Baghdad to Tucson

Things are going well here in Cairo, the usual choking pollution and ubiquitous traffic, but things are good. An Iraqi friend of mine, Ehab, recently traveled to the United States on a permanent visa, he's one of the lucky few. To give a very basic statistic, there are now around 10,000 Iraqi refugees living the US. Comparing that amount to the 250,000 Iraqis living in Cairo, the 1,000,000 in Jordan, and the 2,000,000 in Syria, one starts to notice a bit of a disparity.
My friend Ehab, an ethnic Kurd, is a former employee of the US government, who worked in the Green Zone as a translator and facilitator for Baghdad's massive US embassy. Ehab traveled in and out of the Green Zone on a daily basis, working closely with US AID officials to coordinate reconstruction projects.
As put by Ehab, "Well, some friends told me my name was going around on the execution lists…after hearing that I decided it was time to leave." Execution lists.
Iraq isn't a very happy place right now, Ehab was, however, lucky enough to get out and come to Cairo. To give a bit of a comparison, imagine you were living the good life in Dallas or Austin and, after being forced from the US, you wound up in Mexico City with a quarter of a million American refugees, trying to survive in a foreign environment with little or no outside assistance. Indeed, it's a hard-knock life for Iraqis these days.
Ehab basically won the lottery in receiving permission to live in the US, sponsored by the State Department, he'll be starting his new life in Tucson, Arizona. Before leaving, Ehab had the usual, pre-travel-to-a-place-I've-never-been-to-and-am-going-to-spend-the-rest-of-my-life-in apprehension. "How are the people in Arizona," he asked, "and how will they treat me when they find out I'm Iraqi?" "What about the weather? Does it snow in Tucson?" Ehab emailed me shortly after arriving in Tucson, here's an excerpt from that email:

"Zor Supas Gianem,Heyyyyyyyy Daves,Americans are the nicest people on earth, everybody says hi when they see me, and they greet me and smile, I am in Tucson where the refugee program has put me , the city is not that big yet, the people are nice and friendly, if I ask about the way they will help me till the end, they are Awlad baled. (Basically, "salt of the earth, good people")

I am so happy that I am here, yet I am so confused the system is so complicated but efficient, a lot of paperwork and signatures and interviews and numbers but the people are great and always smiling, I miss you man, Ehab."

It's good to know that at least one person is getting a fresh chance. Best of luck Ehab