Iraqis have become the largest group of refugees entering the United States. Last year, nearly 700 Iraqis came to Massachusetts, many of them fearing for their lives after working with the American military. Many families are having a hard time making it in Massachusetts.Ahmed Almusarawy and his 4-year-old daughter frequent a Chelsea relief agency for clothes and English classes. He's trying to rebuild a life for his wife and four children after being shot while working as a state department driver in Iraq.With the help of a translator, Almusarawy described his injuries."Twelve bullets in his stomach and his leg," the translator said.
Almusarawy has struggled since he arrived in Massachusetts nearly a year ago, and he can no longer afford his $1,100 Chelsea rent."They told us, 'You will have a house, a job,'" said Almusarawy.Other Iraqi refugees tell similar stories. The government subsidies don't cover the high rent on Boston area homes, in which they were placed by resettlement agencies. Jobs are hard to find.
"We see a hard time in my country and we see a hard time here. We can't do anything," said Awatif Albadri.Albadri fled Iraq after militias killed her 23-year-old son for working as a translator with the U.S army."The last thing they take was my home. They tell us to leave the home. If you don't leave it, we will kill you and everybody in the home," said Albadri.
A spokesman told NewsCenter 5 that the state department will "review the U.S. refugee resettlement program and the challenges that refugees face given the current economic downturn."That review may come too late for Hameed Nasif, who brought his five children here in September. Through a translator, he talked about promises by the U.S. government."To help you, and assist you to find a job, to learn you the language, to assist you with anything," said Nasif.
With no job, Nasif can no longer afford their $1,600 a month Everett apartment.Nasif's family, as well as Almusarawy's, are both due in court Thursday facing eviction hearings."It's scary. They are scared for the future," said Nasif."There is no answer. No answer. You must do something for these families." said Albadri.
The Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants acknowledged there are challenges, but in a phone call to NewsCenter 5, Director Richard Chacon called Massachusetts a "national model for other states."He said while housing is expensive in the Boston area, wages tend to be higher and refugees often find more affordable housing elsewhere in the state.
Chacon said figures from Fiscal Year 2010 show 59 percent of all Massachusetts refugees found jobs at an average wage of $10.24 an hour. But he did not have specific numbers for the Iraqi refugees.The local resettlement agencies responsible for temporarily funding, then assisting the refugees once they arrive did not return calls from NewsCenter 5.
Statement from United States State Department:
The United States recognizes a special responsibility to the Iraqis who helped U.S. troops and other U.S-based organizations in Iraq. In 2008, the U.S. instituted a direct access program that provides Iraqis with U.S. affiliations the option of applying to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program directly, without the need for a referral.
The United States also created a Special Immigrant Visa Program that allows, under certain circumstances, Iraqis who have worked for (or on behalf of) the United States goverment to resettle in the United States.
We recognize that many resettled refugees in the United States are having a hard time in this economy. The current economic situation is challenging the ability of federal and state agencies, and private non-profit agencies to assist refugees in need. We are working hard to develop solutions.
In 2009, the Dept. of State made an extra $5 million in funding available to refugees in need arriving in the U.S. to help defray housing costs.In 2010, the State Department increased the Reception and Placement per capita grant from $900 to $1,800, effective as of January 1, 2010.
Based on a regulatory provision that allows states to provide additional services aimed at supporting and maintaining family stability, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), within HHS, has authorized states to request that their social services funding be used for emergency refugee housing.
The NSC is leading an inter-agency process to review the U.S. refugee resettlement program, with particular attention to the challenges that refugees face after arrival in the United States given the current economic downturn.
By WCVB
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