May 2023 Student Spotlight: Maryam Jasim
Maryam Jasim is an Iraqi immigrant who moved to the United States in 2008. She currently resides in Rochester, NY, with her husband and two sons. Maryam is pursuing a clinical laboratory technician degree at MCC and is passionate about using her education to make a difference in her community. She interviewed her husband about his experiences and the dangers he faced while living in a refugee camp. Maryam hopes his story will raise awareness about the challenges faced by refugees.
Life in a Square
"Life is short, and it’s up to you to make it beautiful." This phrase describes Sharif's life. I interviewed a desert hero who stood up to injustice. Sharif spent five years in the desert before coming to the United States. He is a wonderful husband and father, is motivated and positive, and has an interesting story to tell.
Despite his young age, in 1991, Sharif was a participant in the revolution against Saddam Hussein's government. He escaped to the Saudi desert with a lot of people after they lost the attempt to topple the Iraqi government, and the revolution was put down with tanks and air power. The American military set up camp for people in the desert. Sharif slept in the open desert during the winter for a few weeks. He dug holes with his hands to shelter from the cold wind at night. The Americans moved the group into tents after a few weeks. They were placed under Saudi military control months later.
I was certain I would bring up the painful memories about his life in the refugee camp. When I asked him, he was silent for a couple of minutes. “The refugee camp was a God-forsaken land. It was a life devoid of hopes and dreams.” He spent two years in what they called "squares." There were twenty-seven squares; each square was 400 m2, and it held up to 600 people. He described his life in the square as hell on earth. Each square was packed with many tents, and there were between 8 to 12 people in each tent. The tents were placed very close to each other and were anchored to the ground with ropes. People were jumping over ropes when they wanted to move between tents or go to use the shared bathrooms. They didn’t have enough water to shower, so each group had to schedule who and when to shower. The water came from 6 water faucets between 4 and 6pm. They used empty water bottles to save water for drinking and showering.
During that time, they went on a hunger strike for two weeks, and practiced civil disobedience. “We demanded access to the United Nations and Red Cross to improve our prison-like conditions. The Saudi authorities agreed to let us move between the squares from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and we had access to the Red Cross.” My husband explained that they felt a loss of hope. Their demand was that they meet with the United Nations. Many people died because they were refused medical care. Sharif eventually met with the United Nations Refugee Resettlement agency. However, the process was extremely slow, with each country agreeing to accept only a small number of refugees each year.
The Saudi soldiers wanted to return the Iraqis back to their country. For that reason, they pushed them closer to the Iraqi border. The refugee resettlement program stopped because of the move. Some people started to go missing from the camp. The people in the camp discovered that the Saudis were handing over some refugees to the Iraqi government. There was a big uprising against the Saudi soldiers, and the Iraqi refugees drove them outside the camp. Later, the Saudis returned with tanks and military helicopters. They killed nearly a dozen refugees and detained many more. They put a curfew on the refugees so they couldn’t leave the tents after 5pm. A year went by before the refugee resettlement program started again. My husband spent five years in the desert before he had his last interview and moved to the United States.
Despite his life's suffering, his insistence was firm. When he first arrived in America, he went to a special school for English as a second language. He worked as a dish washer. At school, he worked with one of the teachers who knew a little bit about computers, and he started moving parts between computers until he got a few of them to work. He spent part of his day working on the computers to learn more about them, and he built enough computers for a small lab. The school offered computer classes for students who wanted to learn typing or Word.
Studying English was not enough for him. After one year in the United States, he enrolled at Monroe Community College. He decided to study computer science. He worked the night shift at 7-Eleven and attended school during the day. He was taking many credits to finish school quickly. After MCC, he went to the Rochester Institute of Technology to continue his education. He started to work at the college computer lab while at RIT, and he earned his degree after three years.
As we neared the end of this interesting discussion about his eventful journey, I asked him one last question. “Are you satisfied with your life's achievements?” His face relaxed, and his eyes lit up. “I restored my future, and I put myself on the right path. The most important thing is peace of mind, which is the greatest thing you can wish for or have. There are always beautiful moments to brighten your day, no matter how difficult your life is."
Despite all the hard obstacle in his life and all the sad memories, a new person was created. His strength makes me to think about all the good things he has that I share with him. He is the reason I’m at MCC; he is motivating me to have good education.
ESOL Voices 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.
Pamela Fornieri, ESOL Program & Katie Leite, GEIS, May 2023