I AM A REFUGEE: Global refugees share their stories

I remember it was at night I was in the

city named in Mysore about 7 p.m.

one day my son go to the school I just

heard some gunshot and everything and

people came in that door broke the door

and took everybody outside and after a

while he came back because he said there

is a man he's dead

on the grass people in the street they

stopped me to kill people run of me they

try to kidnap me from the car they are

shutting the people in front my house we

start to run my little bed they see us

running away they start to shut us they

can ask my family for money and they

gonna kill me after that I was young but

I could see what was going on and it was

hard to see it was so so horrible it was

so dangerous to stay more so I decided

to move

life in Bosnia before was on was awesome

we were living like peacefully I grew up

a good life because my mom's family were

good financially I heard small business

my restaurant over there we have some

problem we have some good normal but

eventually like without you know any

warning or anything I just started one

day we were outside when bombing started

so yeah that was kind of unexpected I

left when I was 11 years old eight years

old I think I was 16 our parents say

that okay we need to do a bus ride we

were told we're going to the city for

the amusement park we didn't know that

we are living for forever almost all the

Iraqi people they can't even come we

were never in a refugee camp living in

tributo

about two years in the refugee camp I

grew up in the refugee camp you don't

know where you're gonna add up I think

at one point we were gonna end up in

Finland and then another point we were

gonna end up the Sweden it was a whole

process actually and screaming before we

get approval finally it was they told us

you're gonna end up in Buffalo New York

we thought it was New York City but it

wasn't coming to the United States it's

also one of the challenging things this

is a very strained transition 180 degree

everything was hard for three days we

didn't even leave our home English was

completely out of my mind English was

like like zero I'm gonna talk to anybody

like in school I was just by myself

sitting there I remember being asked

what's your name and my answer was yes

everything was different

first of all the weather it was my first

time seeing things is the first time in

my life I sleep on a mattress we went

into the bus and we were circling for

like three hours because I didn't know

there is a string you you should prove

some if you want to get out and then

finally my dad decided you know what I'm

gonna leave I see a corner store that

people are coming in and out I'm gonna

walk there

my mom I remember looking out of the

window making to see if he makes it back

safely and then he came back all happy

because the owner of the corner store

was Yemeni so he speaks Arabic if that

was like that made my dad's gate we

thought that there is only one kind of

people but when we arrived here and

there is like white people

Asian people African people large people

so okay so maybe we are good - I start

to move looking for a job just after

couple months

my first job is a mechanic I work in

medical billing is my physiology right

now I work as interpreter and I love

that job when you start job you feel

proud for yourself my slowly start with

that a fifty I was so happy I help other

people who were in my shoes every day I

call my dad are you proud now I'm just

lucky to be here in Bluebell to school

as every kid supposed to do I feel that

this community make me feel very welcome

I decided only one way to pay back to

those people I'm not reaching so I'm not

gonna pay back as a financially and

decided to join Armed Forces and today

I'm serving here about 13 years what do

you feel like you've left behind or what

do you miss the most life there

I miss my whole life it's not easy to

leave the people that you love

I miss if you had a sense of connection

you had a sense of belonging I'm still

searching for that I like how everything

goes here that it doesn't change me more

chuckles I still have the sense of where

can

to be honest with you I don't miss my

country because here I found what I

missed

I want to be more I want to be better

you know what is my dream there are a

lot of dreams my dream was to go to

school

which I ran for like eight years that

feeling when I graduated it's like

something like no one can be when you

call your name one dream come true that

I buy a home for the first time what's

your dream for the future I wish I could

sing it's done it happened when I saw my

kids they grow up in safety place and

they study what they want and they don't

need to do something they don't like it

that's the dream what I need more my

name is Michael a I'm Nadine you serious

Margie I'm from Eric Tandy mama I am a

refugee and I am a global citizen I'm a

global citizen I am a global citizen