Going the Extra Mile For Muslim Refugees in America. Houston, Texas.

In January 2006, a bomb blasted in Baghdad through the home of Abu Zamzam. Following the attack, United States troops stormed into the house to take Abu Zamzam and his son, Ahmed, who shared the same name as the suspect they sought, to interrogate them about the kidnapping of an American journalist. After the innocence of the two men came to light, it did not take more than these horrific experiences for the family to flee their home country to Syria. From there, the United Nations sent Abu Zamzam’s family to the US as Iraqi refugees, along with several other families.

With different stories of the past, many arrived in the fourth largest city in the US, Houston, Texas. Here, they encountered fear of going hungry, confusion in a new hemisphere, and loneliness in their situations. Emotions eventually consoled when they found a hope they could trust in. Its name was Al Amaanah.

The Lone Star State

“I told them no, not Houston because I thought Texas had cowboys!” said Umm Mohammed with a bright smile, explaining her conversation with the UN when they told her she would be settling in Houston, where she arrived on August 11th, 2008 as a widow with her three children, Haneen, 19, Mohammed, 16, and Mustafa, 5. She was welcomed by the coming of Ramadan and also the catastrophic hurricane Ike, fleeing a war zone only to run into a natural disaster.

She resided in an apartment in a low socioeconomic area of Houston. She feared living there. Her wall would shake when her neighbors would fight. Her attempts at finding work did not pull through, but she refused to take off her hijab to make the hunt easier, she would not set that kind of example for her children.

Finally, within a couple months she met a young Muslim brother, Raheel, who asked how he could help her. The aid was Godsend. “If Ghulam and Raheel [were] not in this area,” said Umm Mohammed about two of Al Amaanah’s co-founders, “I could not stay here.” When she found out Al Amaanah only exists in Houston she was glad the UN did not place her anywhere else.

Before she knew it, Al Amaanah moved her into a safer apartment near better schools for her children, furnished the apartment, provided her with food, and helped her enroll in an ESL class at the Houston Community College (HCC). She spoke in English through the entire interview with us and translated for the rest of the refugees we talked with. Even with Al Amaanah, the struggle still raged on for the refugees setting foot in Houston.

In the Face of Hardship

Yazin, 6, played with a hot pink balloon around the apartment as we interviewed his mother. Umm Yazin, also a widow, arrived here on February 26th, 2009 from Jordan, where she taught as a professor in universities with her master’s in physical education from Iraq. Today, she instructs children in P.E. class in a school of the Muslim American Society.

With her bills stacking up every month, she can barely make rent. She desires health insurance in case anything happens to her, a car that does not let in rainwater, or a job where she does not get sunburned time to time. But she always follows these distresses with “alhumdullillah,” being grateful for what she has.

Umm Mona gives us the same positive attitude when she speaks in soft Arabic about her battle with brain cancer. She completed the first level of ESL class at the Bilingual Education Institute, but struggles to explain the doctor’s diagnosis of her illness. The UN sent her to the US to seek medical attention because doctors found her tumor operable, so she now patiently awaits the date of her operation. “I love my husband,” she says to us, explaining she wants the operation quickly so she can leave for Syria to reunite with him.

Helping Hands of a Family

Abu Zamzam told us, “A lot of time I didn’t have money to buy medicine,” referring to the insulin for his wife’s diabetes, but Al Amaanah always paid for it despite how costly. Abu Zamzam’s family, like other refugee families Al Amaanah supports, qualifies for Medicaid. However, on an as needed basis Al Amaanah must mail letters of proof that they monetarily assist the families to show they still live below the poverty line and can continue qualifying for Medicaid.

Usually, resettlement agencies which may be lacking funds themselves, such as YMCA, Interfaith, or Alliance help refugees with basic needs to assimilate into American society. “The families are taken to their apartments… They usually find some mattresses with used bed sheets, a standard black dining table with four chairs, some used dishes, utensils, and a few days’ supply of food,” said Ghulam Kehar, Executive Director of Al Amaanah. However, Abu Zamzam informed us he came to an empty apartment. He used to go through trash to collect furniture until Al Amaanah stepped in. “All the furniture you see in my house is from Al Amaanah,” said Umm Zamzam with gratitude.

Abu Zamzam spoke with great enthusiasm when he told us about Al Amaanah’s zakaat-ul-fitr Ramadan food distribution project, which comprised of over 6,500 pounds of food being delivered to 187 refugee families by fasting volunteers. Since he came here with his family in May 2009, by September he was getting his food stamps, but even those do not suffice for families to survive off of.

“It probably takes on average a month or two for [the refugees] to receive Medicaid and food stamps. What do they do about food during that time? Usually neighbors help out or they call us,” said Kehar.  Umm Mona only receives $300 to stretch out over a period of a month for her and her daughter, Mona, 18, to buy food and water with. When we went to visit with her, she had no food in her home. Without skipping a beat, a sister from Al Amaanah took her out the next day for grocery shopping.

As Umm Yazin explained to us how Al Amaanah gave her furniture, helped pay for her rent, and took her son out to play, she said, “When I talk about Al Amaanah, I know I have my family with me.” Umm Mohammed also said when she speaks about Al Amaanah, she speaks proudly of it. “Al Amaanah helps any people [who] need help,” she said as she told us the story of a Catholic refugee who was being evicted from her apartment because she could not make the rent. Al Amaanah came to pay for her. She felt pride in being so close to an Islamic organization which holds no prejudice in regards to race or religion; they help everyone in need of their assistance.

Strong Spirits

Al Amaanah’s efforts do not go unmatched though. The refugees also play their parts.

Umm Yazin started off only instructing P.E. classes, but now also teaches art and qaida for children beginning to recite Quran. She spoke to us about how she wants to get certified in other specialties too so she can work and earn more money.

Even Umm Mona was disheartened she could not work due to her illness and the side effects of her medications. She hopes to get her operation quickly also to help with the rent and bills, which her daughter mostly takes charge of for now working part time as a babysitter at her mother’s ESL institute.

One of Abu Zamzam’s two married daughters, Zeenah, was a doctor in Syria and is now studying for her US Medical Licensing Exam to continue her profession here. Zamzam teaches Arabic to children and also found a job as a translator at HCC, along with Umm Mohammed’s daughter who is pursuing an engineering degree. Umm Mohammed herself works as a weekend Arabic teacher at the local Masjid El Farouq.

She spoke to us with great joy that she received her green card earlier that day. Her brothers tell her to come back to Jordan. But her response? “I like it here!” she says to them. When the UN asked Abu Zamzam if he still wanted to come to America after all that he and his family went through with the the bombing and interrogation in Iraq, he responded that he just wants to live in peace.

By the blessings of Allāh, there are success stories among the crowd of suffering refugees.  But not all of these families are given a second chance; many of them weren’t even given a full first chance.  Al Amaanah seeks to individualize the group, to impact each person as an independent being, to make a positive difference in their lives so they may in turn be a source of constructive change for society.  Al Amaanah began as something informal done on the weekends, and, alḥamdulillāh, has reached great heights.  So I challenge you, who will match the youth of Houston in making a difference in the lives of refugees?

Inshā'Allāh, an end of the year report for 2009 will soon be available, quantifying Al Amaanah’s assistance to its clients in the last 12 months.

Al Amaanah's website is www.alamaanah.com If you wish, please click here to explore different ways of supporting AlAmaanah.

Here is a list of few of the All Star lineup who carry AlAmaanah on their shoulders:

General Inquires
info@alamaanah.com

Arsalan Majid
Donations Coordinator
arsalanmajid@alamaanah.com

Ghulam R. Kehar
Executive Director
ghulam@alamaanah.com

Falah Adnan
Administrative Assistant
falah@alamaanah.com

Haytham Borhan
Support Services Manager
haythamb@alamaanah.com

Abdullah Muhammad
Field Operations Manager
abdullahn@alamaanah.com

Muhammed Serageldin
Lead Caseworker
muhammeds@alamaanah.com

Sieda Omar
Human Resource Manager
somar@alamaanah.com

Ousswa Kudia
Volunteer Coordinator
ousswa@alamaanah.com

Tabinda Ghani
Development Manager
tabinda@alamaanah.com