September 2020 Student Spotlight: Ali Abdulkareem
Ali Abdulkareem was forced to leave Iraq when ISIS attacked his city. He and his family have lived in Rochester for the past four years, and he is majoring in Engineering Technology at MCC. In his story, Ali tells the story of the time he lived in Turkey while his family waited for their paperwork to be approved to come to the United States as refugees.
The Tea Tray
He hit me with the tray and then pointed at me like some awful thing that he had never seen in his entire life saying, “I don’t want my tea to be served by a nasty boy like you. Go back to your country, coward.” I was 15 years old.
As a child, I was in my country Iraq living my best life with the people I loved. The only challenge that I had experienced was with a soccer ball and losing a couple games. My life was completely free of sadness and burdens until we got into civil war that ruined our lives. With the civil war in Iraq, a group of terrorists and the Iraqi Army had a conflict against each other. Our city was evacuated as soon as the war started. Due to the location of my city, which was close to the Turkish border, my family decided to go there and spend time until the situation got better. When we left home, I looked at the door and I asked myself if this would be the last time I would see my house.
We traveled to Turkey with a low budget, so we could barely afford a monthly rent bill. As soon as we arrived, we went straight to the U.S immigration department in Turkey to ask for refugee forms. We set an appointment with them and everything went well. However, since there were many refugees, the Turkish local government had to distribute us and send us to local towns to stay while the case was processing. We were sent to small village where most of the residents had been living for such a long time. We were struggling with our low budget, and we didn’t have other recourses from the government, family, or friends. The language was the main key to survival and to blend in.
One day, I went to the park, and I was listing to an Arabic song on my phone when suddenly a Turkish guy came out of nowhere. He was tall with long hair and a long beard, and he had an old tan leather jacket with tan leather shoes. “Kefik, my friend,” he said. He used both languages in one sentence. He was speaking a little bit of English and some Arabic that he told me he learned during his career as a truck driver. I told him my story, and I was shaking because I felt I was a burden to him, but he was listening carefully and nodding his head with a sigh. I told him I needed a job. He was a really a nice person, so I gave him my phone number, and he called me the second day telling me that he found a job for me as tea guy. I accepted the job even though I didn't have the language to communicate. I anticipated it would be fun and a good adventure for a 15 year old.
On my first day, I went to the bus station to get a ride to work. I showed the address to the bus driver, and he nodded his head meaning he got it. I got off of the bus, and I started walking and looking for the café shop’s name. Eventually, I found the place and walked toward it. The café was very old. It was located an industrial neighborhood and surrounded by factories. It was dark inside and had old chairs and tables. As soon as I entered the café, numerous people gave me that dirty look full of hate. It seemed to them that I was a criminal. They were whispering to each other and laughing. They connected me up with places I didn’t belong or come from. I heard Africa Arabs and words that I couldn't understand.
I met the boss, and I shook his hand. He was saying things I didn’t understand, but he used his hands to convey the ideas and job style. Also, he showed me the kitchen, and he taught me to make tea. He gave me a big tray with 5 cups tea in it. “Go Ali go,” he said. He pointed a cross the street meaning deliver to the store.
I walked with the big tray, with my shivering body in cold weather and snow hoping to approach the store without dumping any cups. The owner of the store saw me and yelled at me to hurry. He wanted me to run instead of walking so he could get his order faster without any care for who was delivering it. I got to the store, and I said, “Hi this is tea for you.” As soon as I spoke, he realized that I was not from Turkey. Then he came up to me. He was about to choke me. His voice was sharp like thunder. He put the tea on the ground, and he took the tray and hit me with it. As soon as he did that, I started crying out immediately to him, “Me no Turkish,” in broken English. He kicked me out of the store. He wanted revenge against me for no reason. At that time, I collapsed in the street. I cried like baby that hadn’t see his mom for a while. After a few minutes, I returned to the café shop without the tray and cups. The boss understood the issue. At that time, I realized racial discrimination would be with me while my case was processing in this country.
During my experience of being a foreigner in Turkey for 2 years and half, I learned patience and how to get along with people. Having good interpersonal communication helps with socializing and also practical needs to survive. As I grew up, I was able to recover from the way I was treated by controlling my stress and my emotions to get rid of the negative thoughts, but I still can't ever forget what I went through. My past affected my health and my life and changed my point of view towards certain things, but it never changed my opinion that being human is the definition of peace and love. I was hit with a tea tray, but I continued to give them tea with a smile to let them know humanity never dies.
ESOL Voices is a collection of stories written by ESOL students at Monroe Community College. This publication highlights our MCC students who come from all over the world. Look for new stories in the Tribune. We hope you enjoy our students’ stories as much as we do.
— Katie Leite & Pamela Fornieri, ESOL Program, September 2020