Utah's new faces

Samorn Meas, Cambodia

Samorn Meas fled Cambodia on the heels of a military coup, the leader of which he protested against in Phnom Penh. "We want(ed) to bring democracy and freedom back to Cambodia," he said in a soft but earnest voice.

Unemployed, Meas, 33, lives in a sparsely furnished West Valley apartment. An American flag hangs in the kitchen, and a bag of rice leans against the counter. He says he is thankful to the United States for taking him in and giving him a chance for a happy life.

Lydia Sequeira , Iraq

Lydia Sequeira left her home in Baghdad shortly after the Gulf War in 1991. As a Christian, she thought her family would be better off in Jordan, but things only worsened. She couldn't work, she was not a resident and she couldn't go to school. In Baghdad, she and her husband had been financially secure. Suddenly, they had no way to earn money. "I learned about poverty. I learned about poor people. Everything in life is learning, every day."

Raul Rodriguez, Cuba

At 69, Raul Rodriguez could have retired in Cuba to play cards and dominoes with his friends. But he came to Utah last year with his 19-year-old daughter looking for opportunity, more for her than himself.

"My life is about over. It's almost done," he said through an interpreter at his west-side apartment. "You prioritize your time with the young first."

His daughter, Nadyibi Rodriguez-Menendez, has an interest in health and medicine. "Maybe we'll have a doctor in the family," he said.

Martin BuBa and Almaze BuBa, Sudan's Uduk tribe

Almaze BuBa, 11, is in the fifth grade at Plymouth Elementary School in Taylorsville. She plays sports and loves to dance and draw. The BuBa family is making the transition between American and Sudanese cultures, says father Martin BuBa, 27. He married his wife at age 14 in Ethiopia, and the family has been here five years. He is doing well, but some of his fellow Sudanese refugees are not. "A lot of people are thinking about going back to Africa," he said. "It's been a struggle here. You can't get a job. You can't speak English. You can't talk to people."

Elizabeth Lindha, Sudan's Uduk tribe