Reuniting the Al Sabahi Family
Donation protected
Updated January 30, 2016
From the New York Times:
Ammar al-Sabahi has not seen his wife, Zainab, or their children since they left for their native Iraq last year after receiving devastating news: Ms. al-Sabahi’s mother had been badly hurt in a car crash, and two relatives, one eight months pregnant, had been killed.
The unborn baby died, too. The group’s car was hit by a truck while on the way to a prenatal doctor’s appointment.
Mr. al-Sabahi and his family came to the United States as refugees last year after he spent a decade working for the United States military in Iraq, a job that brought both Mr. al-Sabahi and his wife threats from militia groups.
After getting news of the crash, his wife “was crying so much that I said, ‘Maybe you should go back to see your family,’” said Mr. al-Sabahi, who drives for a ride-hailing service in Austin, Tex. “I was working so much, so she took the kids because they couldn’t be home with no one to be responsible for them.”
They thought Ms. al-Sabahi and the children would be gone for no more than a month, but they have been trapped in Baghdad since April because they did not seek the United States government’s permission to travel, something refugees are required to do.
Mr. al-Sabahi said that they did not understand the rules and that his wife “just wanted to see her mother because we were afraid her mother was going to die, too.”
His family had one year from the day they left to apply for permission to re-enter the United States and were just wrapping up that process when Mr. Trump signed his executive order, said their lawyer, Hannah Silk Kapasi.
The deadline is April 19, 2017. The executive order bars all refugees from entering the United States until May 28.
“Ammar was a contractor for the U.S. government,” Ms. Kapasi said. “He was helpful to the U.S. government, and for that reason, he sought and received the protection of the U.S. government when he came to this country.”
She added, “I certainly hope we can see this family safe and reunited.”
Mr. al-Sabahi said he just wanted the chance to build the life that seemed so close.
“We are so tired of being far apart,” he said. “There is no future for our children in Iraq. The country is destroyed. There is nothing left for us there. We just want a nice life for our children. We are just human beings.”
— Liam Stack
FIRST GoFundeMe Post
May 2016
Dear friends and family,
I have a favor to ask.
As many of you know, I have been volunteering with Refugee Services of Texas since early January. I kicked off my volunteer work by picking up the Al Sabahi family of six from Baghdad, Iraq at the Austin airport.
The dad, Ammar, worked for the U.S. Army and contractors for 13 years. After putting his life on the line for so long, he and his wife, Zainab, decided to seek family refugee status in the U.S. for themselves and their four kids, ranging in age from 5 to 14. They each had one suitcase and, when I met them, they had just spent 48 hours traveling from Baghdad via Amman, Jordan and Chicago. I delivered them to their new home, a two-bedroom apartment on Austin’s north side.
I since have gotten to know them, I can attest that they are a wonderful, hard-working, smart, fun and loving family. They are going to make wonderful U.S. citizens.
They are sincerely grateful for the HEB (our grocery store here in Texas) gift cards, clothing and household donations from my family and friends. Through hard work and determination, Ammar and Zainab only had to receive food stamps for their family of six for only a few weeks. Ammar works at a Mediterranean restaurant and is putting in 60+ hours per week and Zainab is a homecare attendant. All four kids were enrolled in school once they received their inoculations. (It was a blast taking them to school registration!)
All sounds great, right? It was…until tragedy struck. In early May, Zainab’s mother, pregnant sister-in-law and her sister-in-law’s mother were en route to a doctor’s appointment to prepare for the baby’s arrival when they were in a horrible car accident. Zainab’s sister-in-law and her sister-in-law’s mother were both killed (the unborn baby did not make it either). Zainab’s mother suffered serious injuries.
Zainab’s mother had been the caregiver to several of her grandchildren up until the accident (and would have been for the newborn grandson as well). Now there was nobody to care for the kids. Meanwhile, Zainab’s brother was mourning the loss of his wife and unborn child, so she decided it would be best if she and the kids return to Iraq to help the family. A fellow Iraqi in Austin paid for the five one-way tickets to Baghdad. The intent was to be gone for 30 days and return to Austin.
Ammar and Zainab’s heat-of-the-moment decision to temporarily send Zainab and the kids back to Baghdad was naïve. The five of them are now stuck in Baghdad because they did not have approval from the U.S. government to leave and come back. They made a mistake, and they know it.
Here’s the good news. Working with Catholic Charities’ legal team, we have built a great case and expect the U.S. government to grant Zainab and the kids permission to return, but it is going to take time and money. Hence, I created this GoFundMe account to raise funds to pay for the discounted legal fees and the U.S. immigration filing fees. Here’s the breakdown of what we need to raise:
Legal fees: $1,250
Immigration filing fees: $750
Five one-way return airline tickets: I am hoping we can ask people to donate frequent flier miles vs. having to raise the funds to pay for one-way tickets.
If you are able to donate toward the $2,000 in legal and filing fees, please do so here on GoFundMe.
If you are able to donate frequent flier points for use some months down the road, please contact me directly.
Ammar, Zainab, their kids and I thank you so much!
Brian
From the New York Times:
Ammar al-Sabahi has not seen his wife, Zainab, or their children since they left for their native Iraq last year after receiving devastating news: Ms. al-Sabahi’s mother had been badly hurt in a car crash, and two relatives, one eight months pregnant, had been killed.
The unborn baby died, too. The group’s car was hit by a truck while on the way to a prenatal doctor’s appointment.
Mr. al-Sabahi and his family came to the United States as refugees last year after he spent a decade working for the United States military in Iraq, a job that brought both Mr. al-Sabahi and his wife threats from militia groups.
After getting news of the crash, his wife “was crying so much that I said, ‘Maybe you should go back to see your family,’” said Mr. al-Sabahi, who drives for a ride-hailing service in Austin, Tex. “I was working so much, so she took the kids because they couldn’t be home with no one to be responsible for them.”
They thought Ms. al-Sabahi and the children would be gone for no more than a month, but they have been trapped in Baghdad since April because they did not seek the United States government’s permission to travel, something refugees are required to do.
Mr. al-Sabahi said that they did not understand the rules and that his wife “just wanted to see her mother because we were afraid her mother was going to die, too.”
His family had one year from the day they left to apply for permission to re-enter the United States and were just wrapping up that process when Mr. Trump signed his executive order, said their lawyer, Hannah Silk Kapasi.
The deadline is April 19, 2017. The executive order bars all refugees from entering the United States until May 28.
“Ammar was a contractor for the U.S. government,” Ms. Kapasi said. “He was helpful to the U.S. government, and for that reason, he sought and received the protection of the U.S. government when he came to this country.”
She added, “I certainly hope we can see this family safe and reunited.”
Mr. al-Sabahi said he just wanted the chance to build the life that seemed so close.
“We are so tired of being far apart,” he said. “There is no future for our children in Iraq. The country is destroyed. There is nothing left for us there. We just want a nice life for our children. We are just human beings.”
— Liam Stack
FIRST GoFundeMe Post
May 2016
Dear friends and family,
I have a favor to ask.
As many of you know, I have been volunteering with Refugee Services of Texas since early January. I kicked off my volunteer work by picking up the Al Sabahi family of six from Baghdad, Iraq at the Austin airport.
The dad, Ammar, worked for the U.S. Army and contractors for 13 years. After putting his life on the line for so long, he and his wife, Zainab, decided to seek family refugee status in the U.S. for themselves and their four kids, ranging in age from 5 to 14. They each had one suitcase and, when I met them, they had just spent 48 hours traveling from Baghdad via Amman, Jordan and Chicago. I delivered them to their new home, a two-bedroom apartment on Austin’s north side.
I since have gotten to know them, I can attest that they are a wonderful, hard-working, smart, fun and loving family. They are going to make wonderful U.S. citizens.
They are sincerely grateful for the HEB (our grocery store here in Texas) gift cards, clothing and household donations from my family and friends. Through hard work and determination, Ammar and Zainab only had to receive food stamps for their family of six for only a few weeks. Ammar works at a Mediterranean restaurant and is putting in 60+ hours per week and Zainab is a homecare attendant. All four kids were enrolled in school once they received their inoculations. (It was a blast taking them to school registration!)
All sounds great, right? It was…until tragedy struck. In early May, Zainab’s mother, pregnant sister-in-law and her sister-in-law’s mother were en route to a doctor’s appointment to prepare for the baby’s arrival when they were in a horrible car accident. Zainab’s sister-in-law and her sister-in-law’s mother were both killed (the unborn baby did not make it either). Zainab’s mother suffered serious injuries.
Zainab’s mother had been the caregiver to several of her grandchildren up until the accident (and would have been for the newborn grandson as well). Now there was nobody to care for the kids. Meanwhile, Zainab’s brother was mourning the loss of his wife and unborn child, so she decided it would be best if she and the kids return to Iraq to help the family. A fellow Iraqi in Austin paid for the five one-way tickets to Baghdad. The intent was to be gone for 30 days and return to Austin.
Ammar and Zainab’s heat-of-the-moment decision to temporarily send Zainab and the kids back to Baghdad was naïve. The five of them are now stuck in Baghdad because they did not have approval from the U.S. government to leave and come back. They made a mistake, and they know it.
Here’s the good news. Working with Catholic Charities’ legal team, we have built a great case and expect the U.S. government to grant Zainab and the kids permission to return, but it is going to take time and money. Hence, I created this GoFundMe account to raise funds to pay for the discounted legal fees and the U.S. immigration filing fees. Here’s the breakdown of what we need to raise:
Legal fees: $1,250
Immigration filing fees: $750
Five one-way return airline tickets: I am hoping we can ask people to donate frequent flier miles vs. having to raise the funds to pay for one-way tickets.
If you are able to donate toward the $2,000 in legal and filing fees, please do so here on GoFundMe.
If you are able to donate frequent flier points for use some months down the road, please contact me directly.
Ammar, Zainab, their kids and I thank you so much!
Brian
Organizer and beneficiary
Brian Kurth
Organizer
Austin, TX
Ammar Al Sabahi
Beneficiary