Iraqi refugees making Utah home

SALT LAKE CITY — Refugees are part of the collateral damage of political, ethnic and religious unrest in the world. About 2,200 of those refugees arrive in Utah each year.

After a war in Iraq that spans a decade, it is little surprise that the biggest bloc of refugees arriving in Utah recently are Iraqi.

Majeed Shaher fled his home in southern Iraq because he received threats after changing religious sects. He first went to Jordan, where he married and worked on resettlement as a refugee. He and his wife, Jaleela Ahmed, and son, Abdul Malik, were resettled to Utah about two years ago. He said he feels lucky to be in Utah, where his wife's brother lives nearby. But his transition is complicated by the fact neither he nor his wife spoke any English when they arrived, and because Shaher is blind.

Shaher has memorized the Quran, and his English tutor describes him as the most eager student she has ever seen. But learning English is complicated by the fact he is simultaneously learning Braille, which will eventually give him better access to learning resources for the blind. In the meantime, he does not yet have the skills to get around by himself, and he has no job, so he is home and often alone most of the day, which can be discouraging.

His English tutor pushes some cultural boundaries by teaching English both to Shaher and his wife. Their lessons take place around a coffee table in the family's apartment in Murray. Shaher's wife can see the pictures that describe nouns in English in the vocabulary study books while Shaher types the new English words he is learning on his Brailler. He also records the lessons so he can review them in between his tutor's visits.

"I feel my dignity here, not there," Shaher says, sometimes speaking with the help of a translator. "I am very happy because when I'm looking to the future for me and my son, I feel happy. It's better than Iraq or other countries."

Shaher feels an urgency to learn English — his son's Arabic is fading as fast as the 5-year-old's English skills are growing. "I speak to him in Arabic and he answers me in English."

Independence and self-reliance is also part of the urgency to speak English. "I like people here, and they did a lot of good things for me. I want to say thank you," he said. "I need to find job. I want to communicate with American people. I want to depend on myself, not on my wife."

Missed the war, joined the rescue