“Everything and Nothing”

By Kelly Hayes-Raitt | May 27th, 2008 | No Comments

“Everything and nothing,” a resigned Wafaa says of what she left in Baghdad when her family fled a year and a half ago.

“We came to Amman after threats of being kidnapped,” her husband explains. “My cousin was kidnapped. While I was negotiating with the kidnappers, they said they’d kidnap me, too. I was concerned about my young teenage daughters, who were in school. My parents were threatened, too. They told them, ‘Either pay money or we will kill you.’ So they left their house.

“My parents were killed by a road explosion,” the 40-something gentle man says softly.

“I don’t know why I was threatened. Maybe they wanted money. But, I was (just) a construction worker,” he says with a shrug.

“We’re here now. No job, we’re not allowed to work. We have no residency; we are like illegals here, waiting for the UNHCR to help.”

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