This Iraqi man, who was a translator for the US troops, is living in Alaska now with his wife and son. DP
By JILL FANKHAUSER, Alaska Star
alaskastar.com: Hatem Saaed is a wanted man in Iraq. Terrorists are looking for him. But today he is a world away from insurgents and car bombers — he lives in Peters Creek.
Saaed and his family live here thanks to a special immigration visa available to Iraqi and Afghan people who have helped U.S. military forces in their countries.
Saaed, an electrical engineer, was a communications and infrastructure advisor in Baghdad for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, helping to rebuild Iraq after the U.S. invasion in the spring of 2003. He had to get out, he said, because terrorists were interrogating his family — even taking his sister captive — to get information about his whereabouts. Saaed said someone leaked information about his job with the Americans to insurgents.
Working for Americans is dangerous, Saaed said. He never knew who to trust or who would turn on him, so he only told his family about his job. He taught them to say he worked in Jordan and they didn't know how to find him.
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5 comments:
interesting !! never knew that people frm contries like iraq too migrate to Alaska !!
Forget culture shock...let's talk about weather shock! I feel for any Iraqi citizen who has moved to Alaska. The life may be better for them, but that weather will be difficult to adjust to! Still, I am hearing about many eb5 investor visa holders starting their businesses in Alaska. It has one of the highest rates of new business openings in the nation. They are seeing many new opportunities presented due to the changing weather and conditions (global warming!).
Mike makes a really good point. Can you even imagine having never felt the cold weather, then actually living in one of the coldest places on Earth? He is also correct about the eb5 investor visa and Alaska, but EB5 programs are popping up in just about every state of the union due to the incredible success and interest in the program.
An enormous round of applause, continue the great work.
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