Driving Cabs Instead of Building Bridges, Iraqis Languish in U.S.

[sabra]

Source: WP

Skilled Refugees Struggle After Fleeing Retaliation for Aiding America

Two years ago, Firas Safar was a successful Baghdad printer, winning contracts with U.S. authorities to produce brochures for aid missions, posters for army units, and several million copies of the new Iraqi constitution.

Today Safar, 31, is a jobless refugee in Takoma Park, part of a new wave of professional Iraqis who have received special immigration privileges because, in many cases, their work for U.S. authorities or organizations resulted in threats or violence back home. For many such as Safar, it has meant trading economic security in Iraq for personal security here.

He, his wife and two small daughters just moved into a tiny apartment. Half-opened suitcases spill off the bed, and toys are jumbled on a donated crib. Safar's most valuable possession is a laptop computer that contains images of his work in Iraq, images he hopes will win him a new career in the United States.

"I can do many things. I have many ideas," said Safar, restless in his cramped quarters and eager to start over. On his kitchen table is a reminder of the dangers he left behind: an educational comic book he designed and dedicated to his small cousin, who was killed by gunfire in an Iraqi schoolyard.

...

"The demand has far exceeded what we initially anticipated," said one State Department official. He also noted that there had been a major change in U.S. policy, which was initially aimed at encouraging skilled Iraqis to remain home and help rebuild their country.

"For a long time, we did not want to open the floodgates," he said.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/24/AR2008062401661.html?hpid=topnews

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R