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SALT LAKE CITY — Since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, more than 2 million people have fled the country for refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. Relocating those refugees here to the United States has been challenging because of the threats posed by terrorist groups like ISIS with ties to Syria. A few refugees are making it out of the camps, and one family is now calling Utah home.
Moawiyah Bilal, his wife Khouloud Abou Arida and his three children arrived in Salt Lake City just before Thanksgiving. Their youngest, a 2-year-old boy named Zein, is already right at home in the family's spacious apartment, playing with his mom's cellphone and eating fresh fruits for breakfast. Zein will remember very little of his past life, but that is all right with his mother who said, "The important thing for us is that we are safe here."
Arida and her family haven't been here long, but they're already on the road to a new life. At Granite Peaks, both the mom and dad will get help adjusting to life in Utah. Learning English comes first. Teachers ask questions to find out how much English the couple already knows. The mom can answer questions about where she is from, and the dad answers, "Good," to the question, "How are you?"
Learning the language and finding work are just two of the many challenges facing the Bilals as they resettle their family. They are the first Syrian refugees to come to our state. Aden Batar is director of Immigration and Refugee Resetttlement for Catholic Community Services.
"The ISIS issue really created a lot of difficulty with all these areas where the Syrian refugees are," he said.
Fear of terrorism is trapping many Syrian families in refugee camps. The Bilals spent two years in a Lebanese camp before arriving here in Utah. Batar thinks "the Syrian refugees will be welcomed with open arms." In fact, the family already feels welcome as they settle into their apartment and meet their translator and others with Catholic Community Services.
Fourteen-year-old Nour misses her home in Syria but also welcomes the chance to go to school. For two years, the Lebanese government did not allow the Bilal girls to attend school.
"If you tell me to go to school today, I would go right now," Nour said.
Nour's father feels safe for the first time in a long time.
"I'm very happy, I'm so excited, I'm so excited," he said.
Bilal faced the threat of torture and death in Syria, and the entire family faced great prejudice in Lebanon.
"The Lebanon government does not treat Syrian people very nicely," Arida said.
Batar agrees and worries about the future for Syrian refugees.
"If we keep warehousing refugees, children are growing up in the refugee camps. Families don't have any hope, no future," he said.
In fact, Batar wants to give more Syrians a better future. Each year, he helps to resettle hundreds of refugees all eager to become productive U.S. citizens. Bilal and his family have already begun the quest for their American dream with daily English classes. Next week, Nour and her sister will begin school.
"Language (English) first … and in the future I want to be a doctor," Nour said.
