ABAD HASSAN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abad Hassan was on a U.S. Army base in Iraq when he heard Al-Qaeda had exploded dump trucks filled with TNT near his home in Shingal, Iraq where his wife and four children were living.  

 

“I thought I lost every single member of my family,” Hassan said.

 

With no way to contact his family, all Hassan could do was wonder if his family still alive while he waited for the safety of morning to drive back into Shingal. 

 

The explosion killed about 300 people—mostly women and children—but Hassan's wife and children survived, although every minute brought another report of more friends and family members who had died.

 

Hassan, now 27, was a translator for the U.S. Army in Iraq for nearly six years.  He tells incredible stories of the missions he went on with the U.S. Army and negotiations he translated.  But, when the United States began pulling troops out of the area, it was no longer safe for him and his family to stay there, so they applied for immigration visas in order to relocate to the United States.  They were accepted a year later.

 

Although an Iraqi native, Hassan said he had always dreamed of living in America and was excited once that dream became a reality.  His affinity for the U.S. began at a young age as he supported and believed in the cause of the U.S. Army.

 

At age 17, Hassan bought an English dictionary for 1,000 Iraqi dinar—about 50 cents—and began teaching himself English.  On June 18, 2005, eight months after buying the dictionary, he passed the interpreter test and became a translator for the U.S. Army. 

 

Six months into the job, Hassan was translating meetings between the high-ranking leaders of the U.S. and Iraqi armies.

 

“It was a lot of action,” said Hassan.

 

He never knew when he might get shot by a sniper, drive over an IED roadside bomb

or have his helicopter shot down.  Countless times, he watched his friends die and

always worried about the protection of his family, but Hassan believed in the cause

of the U.S. Army and wasn’t scared to lose his life fighting for what he thought was right.

 

In 2012, Hassan was issued special immigration visas allowing him, his wife, Khoja,

and his children, Marwan, Maryam, Maria and Maykil to move to the United States. 

They were to be resettled in Memphis, Tennessee.

 

It was difficult for Hassan and his family to leave everyone they loved behind,

although they knew it was the choice they had make.  When the day came for them

to leave, his children clung to their grandparents, not wanting to leave without them.

 

Hassan's brother, Kheiri, said they had a close bond.  They weren’t only brothers, they were best friends and it was hard to see him go.  Hassan had been a provider for their extended family and had always used the money he made while translating to support everyone. 

 

“He was number one, he helped too much,” said Kheiri.  “I can’t tell you everything but he helped a lot.  My family used to have nothing.  Nothing.”

 

From the moment they landed in the United States, Hassan and his family realized they were now safe from Iraqi terrorists, but were facing a whole new kind of hardship.  When they arrived at the airport after three days of traveling, no one from the resettlement agency was there to pick them up.  The agency wasn’t even aware they were arriving that week.

 

While in the airport, Hassan asked a man if he could borrow his cell phone to make a call. The man shook his head and walked away.

 

“At that moment, I was like, ‘What have I done to myself?  I wish I had not come to this country,’” Hassan said.

Luckily, Hassan had a friend living in Memphis who was able to give his family a place to stay for a few days while his case was transferred to an agency in Nashville. 

 

Six months passed in Nashville and Hassan was unable to get a job.  His wife and kids were having a difficult time adapting to American life as they knew no English, and all they wanted was to return home.

 

“It was just us all the time,” said Khoja, Hassan's wife.  “We had nobody to talk to or to even have a conversation with.”

 

For Iraqis, community is everything.  In the United States, without their family and friends, Hassan and his family were struggling.

 

“There you could ask anybody for help and everyone was free,” Hassan said.  “But over here, everyone is busy.  It doesn’t mean that they don’t want to help you but they have a busy life.”

 

Hassan heard from some friends that Lincoln, Nebraska had a large Yazidi population—a Kurdish ethno-religious group that Hassan and his family were a part of—so they decided to move to Lincoln in hope that things would get better.  But, the moment his children saw the snowy streets of Lincoln, they said, “Take us back to Iraq.” 

 

Two days later, they were on a plane back to Nashville.

 

“To be honest, I reached a point where it seems like the people over here don’t care about you,” said Hassan.

 

The loneliness, boredom and lack of community had finally taken its toll on Hassan's family and they decided to return to Iraq, although Hassan's brother, Khairi, warned them about returning home.

 

“I told him when he wasn’t here, don’t come, don’t come to Iraq,” said Khairi.  “Iraq is nothing.  It’s dangerous.”

 

But Hassan didn’t listen.

 

Once back in Iraq, his family was happy, albeit in danger, but Hassan couldn’t sleep

because he was constantly worried about their safety and welfare.

 

“When you see the United States and you go back to a country like Iraq, you can survive

but you cannot live out there,” Hassan said.

 

All he could think about were the safe places to live and job opportunities in the U.S. that

Iraq would never be able to give him.  Hassan said he knew he had to return, so after a

few days, he left his family under the care and protection of his father and returned to

Lincoln—home of over 170 Yazidi families.

 

In Lincoln, Hassan continued to struggle to find a job.  He was living with a friend and began volunteering at Catholic Social Services, a refugee resettlement agency in Lincoln.  The staff started asking Hassan to help translate interactions with clients and eventually he was hired as a driver for the donation trucks. 

 

Hassan worked his way up from truck driver to case manager and is now working as an employment specialist assisting refugees in finding a job when they arrive in Lincoln.

 

To this day, he remembers the day his family returned to the United States and decided to give life here another chance—July 7, 2013.

Things were different for Hassan's family this time.  He had already secured a job, a furnished apartment to live in, his wife was able to start ESL classes and his children excitedly jumped right into school where they quickly learned English.

 

On Nov. 20, 2013, Hassan's brother Kheiri, his wife and daughter moved to Lincoln into the apartment above Hassan.

Having part of his family back together has made life in Lincoln much more enjoyable for Hassan.  They have applied for immigration status for their seven other siblings and their families, but they are still waiting for their applications to be accepted.  They hope that someday soon they can all live together in one big house in Lincoln.

 

Although Hassan and his family are now safe, they constantly worry about their countless family members still living in Iraq.  This past August, they were stranded on Mount Sinjar along with hundreds of other Yazidi families fleeing ISIS terrorists. 

Hassan remembers a phone call from his father in which he heard him cry for the first time as he said, “I think we are all going to die.”

 

Hassan's family escaped the mountain, but they are now living in tents in northern Iraq with very little food and water.  Hassan and his brother are doing everything they can to send money to their family to keep them alive.

 

When asked if he would ever go back to Iraq, Hassan responded with, “Not till I’m on top of a tank or Humvee.”

 

“Lincoln is the right place for us,” he said, and his wife nodded in agreement.

 

Khoja says her dream is to see her kids grow up in the United States, get their degrees and become independent.  She also said she would like to see her husband graduate from school, a statement that made Hassan laugh out loud.

 

“I think it will be a really bright future” he said.

 

Hassan and Khoja have overcome many hardships to establish a new life for their family.  After serving alongside the U.S. Army in Iraq, he is thankful for the chance to find safety and opportunities here in the United States.

 

 

 

*Name changed for the protection of the sources