For immediate release: Feb. 27, 2021 WASHINGTON--Refugee Congress urges the Biden Administration to sign a revised FY21 Presidential Determination (PD) [...]
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State: Kentucky City of Residence: Louisville, Kentucky Country of origin: Somalia Arrival in the U.S.: 2009 Mr. Mukhtar Ahmed is a Somali refugee who was reunited with his family in Louisville, Kentucky in 2009. After being displaced many times and becoming separated from his family, Mr. Ahmed fled to Kenya with friends, where he spent four years without knowing where […]
State: Florida City of Residence: Atlantic Beach, Florida Country of origin: Iraq Arrival in the U.S.: 2010 Ms. Basma Alawee her husband were forced to flee Iraq when her family was targeted due to her husband’s employment by an American company. Ms. Alawee now lives in Atlantic Beach, Florida with her husband and two daughters. Although she was a material […]
State: D.C. City of Residence: Washington, D.C. Country of origin: Sudan Arrival in the U.S.: 2000 Reverent Thon Moses Chol was only four years old when the war in Sudan forced him to flee his village as a “Lost Boy” and fend for himself before being resettled as an unaccompanied minor. Mr. Chol was resettled to the United States in 2000 and […]
State: Texas City of Residence: Fort Worth, Texas Country of origin: Democratic Republic of the Congo Arrival in the U.S.: 1999 Mr. Jean-Claude Mauridi was 16 years old when war broke out in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He fled his country in order to avoid recruitment by the rebels, and spent the next ten years in a refugee […]
State: Ohio City of Residence: Blacklick, Ohio Country of origin: Bhutan Arrival in the U.S.: 2008 Mr. Hari Niroula is a refugee from Bhutan who came to the United States in 2008. He currently lives in Blacklick, Ohio with his wife and daughter, where he works as a language interpreter and community advocate. Mr. Niroula has worked with several community […]
State: Texas City of Residence: Denton, Texas Country of origin: Rwanda Arrival in the U.S.: 2000 Ms. Hadidja Nyiransekuye is a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide. She was sponsored to come to the United States in 1998 based on her teaching experience and education background, as well as her extensive language skills, which include English, French, Swahili and Kinyarwanda. She […]
State: Maryland City of Residence: Baltimore, Maryland Country of origin: Rwanda Arrival in the U.S.: 2001 Ms. Eugenie Mukeshimana is a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide. After struggling with this traumatic experience for nearly eight years, she and her daughter finally left in 2001 for the United States and were granted asylum. She currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland and has […]
State: Alabama City of Residence: Mobile, Alabama Country of origin: Viet Nam Arrival in the U.S.: 1993 Mr. Tuan Do is a Vietnamese refugee who came to the United States in 1993. He currently resides in Mobile, Alabama with his wife and daughter. He works as a program coordinator at Boat People SOS, assisting the Vietnamese population affected by the […]
State: Washington Country of origin: Mexico Arrival in the U.S.: 1997 Ms. Jacque Larrainzar came to the United States from Mexico in 1997, and was the first Mexican lesbian to win political asylum in the United States on the basis of her sexual orientation. Ms. Larrainzar currently lives in Seattle, Washington and works as an Immigrant and Refugee Outreach Specialist […]
State: Utah City of Residence: Salt Lake City, Utah Country of origin: Bhutan Arrival in the U.S.: 2008 Mr. Gyanu Dulal was a 20-year-old college student when he was forced to flee Bhutan in 1991. He spent the next 18 years living and working as a teacher in a refugee camp in Nepal. In 2008, Mr. Dulal was resettled to […]
State: Wyoming City of Residence: Gillette, Wyoming Country of origin: Democratic Republic of the Congo Arrival in the U.S.: 2003 Mr. Bertine Bahige fled the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the age of 15 when rebels raided his house and tried to forcibly recruit him. Traveling alone, he undertook a dangerous journey to a refugee camp in Mozambique. In […]
State: Connecticut City of Residence: Naugatuck, Connecticut Country of origin: Iran Arrival in the U.S.: 2000 Mr. Esmail Dezhbod fled religious persecution in Iran and was resettled to Connecticut with his wife and three young children in 2000. When the Iranian Revolution began, the university he was attending was shut down and the leaders of his place of worship, St. […]
State: Minnesota City of Residence: Columbia Heights, Minnesota Country of origin: Somalia Arrival in the U.S.: 1991 Ms. Fatuma Elmi fled the civil war in Somalia and came to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1991, where she was granted Temporary Protection Status. Immediately after arriving, Ms. Elmi began volunteering with Lutheran Social Services to help new refugees adjust to life in the […]
State: Pennsylvania City of Residence: Levittown, Pennsylvania Country of origin: Liberia Arrival in the U.S.: 1999 Mr. Joseph Sackor was two months away from graduating college when war broke out in Liberia and he and his family were forced to flee to neighboring Guinea. Before being resettled, Mr. Sackor served as the president of Liberia Refugee Students organization in Guinea, […]
State: Ohio Country of origin: Rwanda Arrival in the U.S.: 2005 Norah Bagirinka is the Refugee Congress Delegate in Ohio. She is a survivor of the Rwandan genocide and was resettled to the United States in 2005. In Rwanda, she directed a program with the International Rescue Committee that aided female victims of violence. Now in the United States, Bagirinka […]