ShareThisThree Iraqi refugees tell their stories:
Name: Eric, 30
U.S. home: Fairfax, Va.
Family: His mother and younger brother live with him. None use their full names to protect other family members.
How he got here: He came to the United States in June 2008. Eric, who is a Sunni Muslim, said he managed to escape a direct attack three times during the war. "I would see a car chasing me and would go to the closest coalition forces' checkpoint and stay there until the bad people leave." He said he left Iraq because he was "wanted by al-Qaida. ... In 2006, they killed my uncle and my cousin thinking that he was me," Eric said.
U.S. job: Unemployed.
The future: Unable to find a job, he intends to enlist in the U.S. Army. That will make it possible for him to get U.S. citizenship in six months.
Name: Samar Alsamarai, 42
U.S. home: El Centro, Calif.
Family: Husband, Mohamed, 46, two sons, Abdullah, 14, and Taha, 11.
How they got here: The family came to the United States in February 2008. She worked as a gynecologist at the Medical City Hospital in Baghdad and left Iraq because her husband got a threatening letter. "Some of my husband's colleagues who did not take the letters seriously got killed," Alsamarai said.
U.S. job: She is starting anew as a surgical technician at the El Centro Regional Medical Center and is working to transfer her Iraqi medical school diploma.
The future: Alsamarai said she feels happy and safe in the United States. "We never used to trust the mail and had never heard of the word credit," she said. "Here I receive mail I can depend on, I work with a bank I can rely on and am looking forward to paying off my credit every month."
Name: Oro Sameer, 57
U.S. home: San Diego, Calif.
Family: Wife, Nadia, 54, a son, Bashar, 16, and a daughter Natalee, 10.
How they got here: The family came to the United States in December. He worked as a food and beverage manager for an Iraqi company that contracted with the U.S. Army. Sameer, who is a Christian, said insurgents were constantly threatening him and forced him to quit his job. A year later, insurgents kidnapped him and asked his wife to pay a $35,000 ransom. He said each militia in Iraq threatens the Christian population. "You don't know who is fighting whom, who got killed, it's incredible and it's getting worse and worse."
U.S. job: He is training to work as a cashier in a supermarket.
The future: Sameer plans to stay in the United States, which he said will secure a safe and peaceful future for him and his family.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service www.scrippsnews.com)
With IRAQI-REFUGEES
