From an Iraqi Stranded in Malaysia
Posted on August 9, 2008, by Hanna Ingber Win, under Immigration, International.
An Iraqi interpreter named Ashraf who fled his country because of fear of being killed for his work with the Americans wrote a comment on this blog. He said he wants his story told and agreed to have his comment posted, in the hopes that someone might be able to help him. “I feel hopeless and lost,” Ashraf wrote. In his own words:
i am an iraqi guy, i’m 26 now and i’m a registered refugee asylum seeker with the unhcr here in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia…i worked in iraq as an interpreter with the US army, and US special forces (the navy seals) in anbar province and in baghdad….i did alot of work and i was so devoted to my job… my father was killed by a terrorist group that wanted me cause i worked against them with my unit, and my family was displaced and i was almost killed twice and my brother was kidnapped and thank god he survived it and he is working now in baghdad with the US forces also as an interpreter…
i registered here in malaysia cause i was hunted in syria also and i couldn’t get a visa to egypt or jordan or other near countries so i got a visa to Malaysia and here i am here…
i went to the US embassy here in malaysia but they have no help and no answers for any question i have…. and they never gave me hope…and when i go to the unhcr here after being registered they also have no answers for me, they just said that no countries are accepting any refugees now and we have no info about the US accepting iraqis…
i am totally lost and i dont know what to do….if i had enough money then i would try to go back and work as an interpreter, i dont know what to do…
please miss Hanna……. please i need some advice and i really hope that i can be recognised or told what to do or where to go to apply or how to do it….i am totally lost…i wish i can reach the american media or any media to hear my story….
i was the only iraqi local interpreter to work with the US nave Seals cause they are so special but cause of my dedication and devotion to work i was assigned to them….
please miss hanna….i need some advice or some help…i would do anything to survive…
The only thing I can do is share his story. If someone else has some ideas, let me know and I’ll give you his contact info.
It is horrifying to think how many people are in similar situations (more than 2 million Iraqis have fled the country). Ashraf is 26, clearly smart and well-educated judging by his English…so similar to my friends and co-workers. And yet, my friends and I spent the day on the beach, flipping through photographs of Shilo and Angelina’s new baby twins. Ashraf, because he was born in Iraq, because he helped the United States military, is now living in fear and misery.
