There's a new store in Inwood Heights, at 117 Nagle, at the corner of Sickles. There's an Iraqi family getting a new start. You made it possible!!! Your contributions gave this family the head start they needed.
This is the current expression of a tale with a long history; a tale of woe, a tale of hope, a tale of perseverance, and a tale of living in the present with an eye to the future. A family of 6 innocent civilians caught in the political violence around them.
When they were in Baghdad Mom was and engineer. Dad was an entrepreneur who built a small applicance business into a multi-store enterprise. The kids were in school and all was well with the world. Until, well, you know, until the invasion; until the occupation; until the militias took control of the streets; until the criminals became the rulers of neighhborhoods; until the madness of 'the war on terror' became the war on innocent civilians.
When M was first threatened he did not take it seriously, but as he became more and more aware of the executions of people who resisted demands for protection money he became more and more concious of his responsibility to his family. The decision to leave was not easy. To put everything behind...your family, your friends, your business, your schools and doctors, the things that fill your house...this is painful.
But it had to be done. Otherwise there would be death, like the deaths of so many around them who did not cooperate with the gangs that made demands. So, it was off to Amman. Luckily this move was made before Jordan closed its borders to Iraqis (another story in itself).
Things were hard in Jordan. Dad found work, but it was a comedown from being the boss. The Jordanians, long before 'invaded' by Palestinians, had little resources and less patience for these newcomers. The younger kids were tormented at school. Rents and food prices rose in response to the sudden demand of about a million Iraqis who fled the madness next door. But the family 'started over.' "What else could we do?" said mom. They sold what they could in Baghdad, planted roots in Amman and soon the older sons were in college, the younger children studiously following their parents' instructions to do well at school, and making a life for themselves.
It wasn't long afterward that the Baghdad stores were looted, and then burned. This cut their supplemental income and made their staying in Amman a time of hardship. They decided to emigrate to America where they had heard of others making a decent life for themselves. "To the land of the occupier?" Strange, but true.
Soon an application was made to the International Rescue Committee and a year later the family was granted permission to come to the U.S. as refugees. Where to settle? Texas was offered, but the family had heard bad things about the American South and West and they were afraid to settle there. They knew one family in New York City and asked them for sponsorship. Once that was granted they were on their way to the city that never sleeps. But not quite. The two oldest boys were in college and a decision was made to leave them in Jordan to finish school while the rest of the family came to New York.
What a hard place! The government offered 3 months of rent assistance for the familly of four. The cash allowance barely covered food, let alone buying clothing for the coming winter. At $1450/month the IRC found them a small apartment in a roach-infested, dirty building in the Bronx. But all was not lost. The kids made friends and dad found part-time work with an Iraqi-American who has been here for some 15 years. Mom found an unpaid teaching job in a Muslim school, but she thought the experience would be good as she looked for better work.
And then you came to help. Our summer appeal generated an amazing outpouring of generosity. It garnered thousands and thousands of dollars. More than we expected. They opened a corner store. It is part deli (hot and cold dishes) with table service as well as take-out; part ice-cream shop with lots of flavors; part grocery with the basics one might pick up every day in lieu of a trip to the super market.The family got a head start, from your generous donations, and dad used the money wisely. He found a partner and used the money for licenses, fees, rent, stock, beginning salaries, etc.
(And then M went and found them a new apartment; larger, cheaper, cleaner...on his own initiative. This guy has what it takes. And the children have already made new friends.)
We went to break fast there one evening in Ramadan. Sitting in the back we got to see the store in action as locals came and went for a sandwich, a meal, or just some ice cream. It didn't seem like a new store. It seemed already part of the scene.
Mom had a moment of tears. "I am so tired of this...this starting over. Each time we move we start over. And I miss my boys (still in Jordan), and I worry about them."
We didn't say anything. After a while she continued, "But you know, A and R (the youngest children)are in good schools; we have this good business. All things will be good for us. Inshallah."
M said, "Without this help we could not do it. You people are very generous. And they did not even know us."
And the store is clean. And it's bright. And it's open 24 hours a day. And it's already doing a good business as the predominantly Dominican neighborhood gets to know these newcomers. They are a welcoming group, pleased to have such a bright light on their corner.
"Why food?" I asked. "You were an appliance dealer, a store owner. Why did you pick food?"
"What I know is all people of America like to eat."
And so, with a little help from friends like you, a new start is made a little easier.
La Salle
117 Nagle Avenue
Manhattan NY 10040-1402
(212) 567-2390
P.S. 121Contact was able to find a full time teaching job for Mom. It's far from their home, but mom is so happy to have it.
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