Source: World Relief, June 10, 2021
I never expected to be a refugee. I joined a university when I was 18 years old, enrolling in the English department at Basra (the Port of Iraq). At the end of my time there, I graduated second in my department. After graduation, I stayed two more years as a researcher’s assistant and then five more years when I was accepted for my master’s in the linguistics program.
I became a professor in 1987 and moved to Baghdad in 1992 to teach undergraduate and postgraduate students of the English Department at Baghdad University College of Education for Women. Life felt almost perfect.
Then, in 2003, the unexpected happened. The United States invaded Iraq. This is when my life would change forever.
In hopes to rebuild my country, I stayed three years after the US military arrived. However, the targeted people were the Iraqi brains. Doctors, professors, scientists and engineers were receiving life threats daily. I knew it was only a matter of time before they reached me.
The full story describes what life was like for Amira when she and her family arrived in the US. See also 8 Things You Should Know About Refugees (free ebook).