This is about a refugee family that beat 270-1 odds to get to this country. Now they are celebrating Thanksgiving with true thanks. I imagine most people here have forgotten to be thankful for that fact. DP
By Michael Duck | Of The Morning Call
mcall.com: After surviving decades in African refugee camps, after escaping ethnic cleansing that killed tens of thousands of their neighbors, Byamungu Jafari and his family are living a new Thanksgiving story in Allentown.
They've crossed an ocean to build a better life in America, where they're learning survival tips from helpful natives. And today, like the Pilgrims at their first harvest feast 386 years ago, Jafari and his family are coming together to celebrate their survival and give thanks.
''I can say thanks to my God,'' said 25-year-old Jafari, who was born in a refugee camp and beat 270-to-1 odds to reach the United States.
Jafari and his wife, his parents and his eight brothers and sisters communicate in a mishmash of French, Kirundi, Swahili and broken English, but the message is clear. Asked why he's most thankful, Jafari answered in French: ''Nous sommes encore vivants'' -- we are still alive.
Out of roughly 13 million refugees worldwide, Jafari's family got onto a list of 48,000 who won U.S. State Department approval to come to America in the past year.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
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