Sagvan
I was born in Kurdistan, Iraq.
Iraq has been a violent country for most of my life. In 1988, Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi President, killed my dad, my brother, my three uncles, and many other people in our village. After American troops killed Saddam Hussein, Iraq was destroyed. It got much worse. Then, a terrorist group came from other countries in the Middle East into Iraq.
Before I moved here, I was a journalist. I interviewed people who worked for the government about their jobs for a TV program. I worked for another program where people would perform and read poems or sing. I was part of a radio program where I interviewed people about their work as teachers, doctors, mechanics, and other jobs. As a journalist, I wrote about what I saw every day. It wasn't good things I was writing about. The country was very dangerous.
About 15 years ago, members of a terrorist group arrested me for seven days. My family didn’t know where I was. They beat me and hit my head, my back, and my legs. Eventually, the people who kidnapped me thought I had died. They covered my eyes and tied my hands behind my back. I didn't know where I was. I escaped and I went home. It was weird for my family because they thought I died. They were sad because they thought they wouldn't see me again.
I was arrested because I am Kurdish. Another reason is that I worked as a journalist, and I would report honestly about what I saw every day. It was also extremely dangerous for me between 2004 and 2008 because I worked for an American organization in Iraq.
We decided to leave Iraq. Our process took a long time. We waited about eight years before we got our visas. My mom, wife, daughters, and son all moved with me. In 2016, we flew to Jordan, and then to the United States. We went to Tennessee because I have friends there. We couldn’t live there for long because there wasn't a lot of help, and we didn’t know English. After eight months, we moved to the Fargo-Moorhead area.
There is a community of Kurdish people here, and they have lived in the area for about 30 years. They came from Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria. They treated us well and told us what we needed to do next and what help we could get. Soon after we arrived, my daughters and son learned English. I can speak a little bit. The first goal I made here was to focus on learning and improving my English. I work hard at it.
When we first lived here, life was really difficult for us. Everything was new for us, but year by year, everything is becoming normal. We can live like American people. Here, life is better for us.
My friends here are mostly Kurdish because it is hard to make American friends when my English is not good. I have some American friends at the YMCA, where I go to the gym, who I like to say hi to. We always greet each other.
I have friends and relatives that are still in Kurdistan. I miss them very much. My friends and I used to see each other every day, and we would discuss our lives with one another.
We continue to practice Kurdish traditions here. We have the Newroz celebration, which celebrates the beginning of spring. During Newroz we have a big fire, we wear Kurdish clothes, and we eat special Kurdish foods. We have dolma, biryani, rice, bean soup, okra soup, and chicken soup. We also have a Kurdish parade.
I would like to go back to visit Iraq, but it is very expensive. We're still thinking about traveling, but we're not sure when we will be able to go.
Overall we are happy that we moved here. I am happy with some things and I'm unhappy with others, but that is normal because even in my country of Iraq, I'm not happy with everything. The United States is our home. I want to live here and be here. My daughters are attending college in the Fargo-Moorhead area. They study hard and have big goals.
I want to improve my English and get a better job. I hope to be a journalist here one day, but it is difficult because journalists have to know very good English. Even in Iraq, your formal Kurdish has to be good when you're a journalist. I hope I improve my English and get a job working in TV, radio, or newspaper. I have experience and I like it.
There are a lot of things that I want to tell other people. For now, I can't tell people much because of my English. Step by step my English will get better. In the future, I want to give back to my community because they have helped me.
Iraq has been a violent country for most of my life. In 1988, Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi President, killed my dad, my brother, my three uncles, and many other people in our village. After American troops killed Saddam Hussein, Iraq was destroyed. It got much worse. Then, a terrorist group came from other countries in the Middle East into Iraq.
Before I moved here, I was a journalist. I interviewed people who worked for the government about their jobs for a TV program. I worked for another program where people would perform and read poems or sing. I was part of a radio program where I interviewed people about their work as teachers, doctors, mechanics, and other jobs. As a journalist, I wrote about what I saw every day. It wasn't good things I was writing about. The country was very dangerous.
About 15 years ago, members of a terrorist group arrested me for seven days. My family didn’t know where I was. They beat me and hit my head, my back, and my legs. Eventually, the people who kidnapped me thought I had died. They covered my eyes and tied my hands behind my back. I didn't know where I was. I escaped and I went home. It was weird for my family because they thought I died. They were sad because they thought they wouldn't see me again.
I was arrested because I am Kurdish. Another reason is that I worked as a journalist, and I would report honestly about what I saw every day. It was also extremely dangerous for me between 2004 and 2008 because I worked for an American organization in Iraq.
We decided to leave Iraq. Our process took a long time. We waited about eight years before we got our visas. My mom, wife, daughters, and son all moved with me. In 2016, we flew to Jordan, and then to the United States. We went to Tennessee because I have friends there. We couldn’t live there for long because there wasn't a lot of help, and we didn’t know English. After eight months, we moved to the Fargo-Moorhead area.
There is a community of Kurdish people here, and they have lived in the area for about 30 years. They came from Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria. They treated us well and told us what we needed to do next and what help we could get. Soon after we arrived, my daughters and son learned English. I can speak a little bit. The first goal I made here was to focus on learning and improving my English. I work hard at it.
When we first lived here, life was really difficult for us. Everything was new for us, but year by year, everything is becoming normal. We can live like American people. Here, life is better for us.
My friends here are mostly Kurdish because it is hard to make American friends when my English is not good. I have some American friends at the YMCA, where I go to the gym, who I like to say hi to. We always greet each other.
I have friends and relatives that are still in Kurdistan. I miss them very much. My friends and I used to see each other every day, and we would discuss our lives with one another.
We continue to practice Kurdish traditions here. We have the Newroz celebration, which celebrates the beginning of spring. During Newroz we have a big fire, we wear Kurdish clothes, and we eat special Kurdish foods. We have dolma, biryani, rice, bean soup, okra soup, and chicken soup. We also have a Kurdish parade.
I would like to go back to visit Iraq, but it is very expensive. We're still thinking about traveling, but we're not sure when we will be able to go.
Overall we are happy that we moved here. I am happy with some things and I'm unhappy with others, but that is normal because even in my country of Iraq, I'm not happy with everything. The United States is our home. I want to live here and be here. My daughters are attending college in the Fargo-Moorhead area. They study hard and have big goals.
I want to improve my English and get a better job. I hope to be a journalist here one day, but it is difficult because journalists have to know very good English. Even in Iraq, your formal Kurdish has to be good when you're a journalist. I hope I improve my English and get a job working in TV, radio, or newspaper. I have experience and I like it.
There are a lot of things that I want to tell other people. For now, I can't tell people much because of my English. Step by step my English will get better. In the future, I want to give back to my community because they have helped me.