I AM A REFUGEE: Global refugees share their stories
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0:02 - 0:04I remember it was at night.
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0:04 - 0:09I was in the city named Mosul about 7pm.
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0:09 - 0:12One day my son go to the school.
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0:12 - 0:14I just heard some gunshots and everything
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0:14 - 0:16and people came and
knocked the door, -
0:16 - 0:19broke the door and took everybody outside.
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0:19 - 0:21And after a while he come back
because he say, -
0:21 - 0:24"There is a man. He's dead, on the glass."
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0:24 - 0:27People in the street, they stopped me.
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0:27 - 0:28They were killing people around me.
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0:28 - 0:30They tried to kidnap me from the car.
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0:30 - 0:34They are shooting the people
in front of my house. -
0:34 - 0:36And we start to run,
and once they turn back -
0:36 - 0:39they see us running away,
they start to shout at us. -
0:39 - 0:43They gonna ask my family for money
and they gonna kill me after that. -
0:43 - 0:46I was young but I could see
what was going on -
0:46 - 0:47and it was hard to see.
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0:47 - 0:49It was so, so horrible.
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0:49 - 0:52It was so dangerous to stay more.
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0:52 - 0:54So, I decided to move.
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0:54 - 1:01I AM A REFUGEE
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1:01 - 1:05Life in Bosnia before was awesome.
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1:05 - 1:06We were living, like, peacefully.
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1:06 - 1:10I grew up a good life because
my mom's family were good financially. -
1:10 - 1:13I had small business,
my restaurant over there. -
1:13 - 1:16We have some problems,
we have some good. -
1:16 - 1:18You know, it's normal.
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1:18 - 1:19But eventually,
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1:19 - 1:23like, without, you know, any warning or anything,
it just started one day. -
1:23 - 1:27We were outside when bombing started.
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1:27 - 1:30So yeah, that was kind of unexpected.
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1:30 - 1:32I left when I was 11 years old.
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1:32 - 1:33Eight years old.
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1:33 - 1:35I think I was 16.
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1:35 - 1:39Our parents said that,
"OK, we need to do a bus ride." -
1:39 - 1:43We were told we're going to the city
for the amusement park. -
1:43 - 1:46We didn't know that we are leaving
for forever. -
1:46 - 1:49Almost all the Iraqi people,
they can't live in camp. -
1:49 - 1:51We were never in a refugee camp.
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1:51 - 1:53We were living in refugee camp.
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1:53 - 1:54About two years in the refugee camp.
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1:54 - 1:57I grew up in the refugee camp.
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1:58 - 2:00You don't know where you're gonna end up.
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2:00 - 2:03I think at one point we were gonna end up
in Finland, -
2:03 - 2:05and then, another point, we were gonna
end up in Sweden. -
2:05 - 2:07It was a whole process, actually
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2:07 - 2:10and screening before we get approval.
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2:10 - 2:12Finally, they told us,
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2:12 - 2:14"You're gonna end up in Buffalo,
New York." -
2:14 - 2:17We thought it was New York City
but it wasn't. -
2:17 - 2:19Coming to the United States
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2:19 - 2:22is also one of the challenging things.
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2:22 - 2:25That's a very strange transition,
180 degrees. -
2:25 - 2:27Everything was hard.
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2:27 - 2:28For three days we didn't even leave our home.
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2:28 - 2:30English was
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2:30 - 2:32completely out of my mind.
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2:32 - 2:34My English was, like, zero.
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2:34 - 2:35I couldn't talk to anybody.
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2:35 - 2:38In school I was just by myself,
sitting there. -
2:38 - 2:40I remember being asked,
"What's your name?" -
2:40 - 2:42And my answer was, "Yes."
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2:42 - 2:43Everything was different.
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2:43 - 2:44First of all, the weather.
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2:44 - 2:47It was my first time seeing big buildings.
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2:47 - 2:49This the first time in my life
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2:49 - 2:51I sleep on mattress.
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2:51 - 2:54We went into the bus and we were circling
for like three hours -
2:54 - 2:57because I didn't know there is a string
you should pull down -
2:57 - 2:58if you want to get out.
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2:58 - 3:00And then finally my dad decided,
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3:00 - 3:02"You know what? I'm gonna leave."
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3:02 - 3:05"I see a corner store that people
are coming in and out," -
3:05 - 3:07"I'm gonna walk there." And
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3:07 - 3:09My mom and I remember
looking out of the window making-- -
3:09 - 3:11to see if he makes it back safely.
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3:11 - 3:14And then he came back all happy
because the owner of the -
3:14 - 3:17corner store was Yemenese,
so he speaks Arabic. -
3:17 - 3:19That made my dad's day.
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3:19 - 3:23We thought that there is
only one kind of people, -
3:23 - 3:26but when we arrived here
and there is like -
3:26 - 3:27white people
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3:27 - 3:29Asian people
African people -
3:29 - 3:34Lot of people, so,
"Oh, OK, so maybe we are good too." -
3:35 - 3:38I start looking for job
just after couple months. -
3:38 - 3:40My first job is mechanic.
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3:40 - 3:41I work in medical billing.
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3:41 - 3:42It's my first year of college.
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3:42 - 3:44Right now I work as interpreter,
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3:44 - 3:46and I love that job.
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3:46 - 3:49When you start job,
you feel proud for yourself. -
3:49 - 3:53My salary start with $8.50.
I was so happy. -
3:53 - 3:56I help other people who were in my shoes.
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3:56 - 3:59Every day I call my dad,
"Are you proud now?" -
3:59 - 4:00I'm just looking to be here and
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4:00 - 4:03go back to school as
every kid's supposed to do. -
4:03 - 4:06I feel that this community
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4:07 - 4:09make me feel very welcome.
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4:09 - 4:13I decided, only one way to pay back
to those people. -
4:14 - 4:17I'm not rich, so I'm not gonna pay back financially.
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4:18 - 4:20I decided to join the armed forces.
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4:20 - 4:23Until today, I'm serving here
about 13 years. -
4:23 - 4:25[Interviewer:] What do you feel like
you've left behind, -
4:25 - 4:28or what do you miss the most
about life there? -
4:29 - 4:31I miss my whole life.
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4:31 - 4:35It's not easy to leave the people
that you love. -
4:35 - 4:35I miss...
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4:35 - 4:39you had a sense of connection,
you had a sense of belonging. -
4:39 - 4:40I'm still searching for that.
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4:40 - 4:46I like how everything goes here,
but it doesn't change me much -
4:46 - 4:50'cause I still have this sense of
where I came from. -
4:50 - 4:53To be honest with you,
I don't miss my country. -
4:54 - 4:57Because here I found what I missed.
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4:57 - 5:01I want to be more, I want to be better,
you know? -
5:01 - 5:02What is my dream?
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5:04 - 5:06Oh, there are a lot of dreams.
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5:06 - 5:09My dream was to go to school
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5:09 - 5:11which I went for, like, eight years.
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5:11 - 5:13That feeling when I graduated,
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5:13 - 5:15it's like something
no one can pay you for. -
5:15 - 5:17Like, when they call your name.
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5:17 - 5:23One dream come true,
that I buy a home for the first time. -
5:25 - 5:27What's your dream for the future?
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5:29 - 5:32I wish that I could be a singer.
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5:32 - 5:35It's done. It happened.
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5:35 - 5:38When I saw my kids, they grow up
in safety place -
5:38 - 5:41and they study what they want
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5:42 - 5:45and they don't need to do something
they don't like it -
5:45 - 5:47that's the dream. What I need more?
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5:48 - 5:49My name is Immaculee.
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5:49 - 5:50I'm Nadeen Yousef.
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5:50 - 5:51Felix Madgi.
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5:51 - 5:53Hi, my name is Masarra Faek.
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5:53 - 5:54I'm from Iraq.
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5:54 - 5:54Bhutan.
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5:54 - 5:55Burundi.
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5:55 - 5:56Burma.
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5:56 - 5:58I am a refugee, and I am global citizen.
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5:58 - 5:59I'm a global citizen.
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5:59 - 6:01I am a global citizen.
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6:02 - 6:03I AM A REFUGEE
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6:03 - 6:05I AM A MOTHER
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6:05 - 6:06I AM A DAUGHTER
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6:06 - 6:07I AM A HUSBAND
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6:07 - 6:08I AM A BROTHER
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6:08 - 6:09I AM A FRIEND
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6:09 - 6:11I AM A NEIGHBOR
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6:11 - 6:12I AM A STUDENT
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6:12 - 6:14I AM AN ENTREPRENEUR
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6:14 - 6:15I AM A GLOBAL CITIZEN
- Title:
- I AM A REFUGEE: Global refugees share their stories
- Description:
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Global Citizen recently traveled to Buffalo, NY, a refugee resettlement hub, to meet refugees from over 10 countries. Some are recent arrivals. Others have been in the US for most of their lives. Together, their stories form an intimate portrait of what it means to be a refugee.
Become a global citizen: www.globalcitizen.org
Subscribe to our channel: https://goo.gl/PwvdVH - Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- Amplifying Voices
- Project:
- Refugee Crisis and Solutions
- Duration:
- 06:30
Ilona edited English subtitles for I AM A REFUGEE: Global refugees share their stories | ||
Cristina Marioglou edited English subtitles for I AM A REFUGEE: Global refugees share their stories | ||
Cristina Marioglou edited English subtitles for I AM A REFUGEE: Global refugees share their stories | ||
Cristina Marioglou edited English subtitles for I AM A REFUGEE: Global refugees share their stories | ||
Cristina Marioglou edited English subtitles for I AM A REFUGEE: Global refugees share their stories | ||
Cristina Marioglou edited English subtitles for I AM A REFUGEE: Global refugees share their stories | ||
Cristina Marioglou edited English subtitles for I AM A REFUGEE: Global refugees share their stories | ||
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