A new little American arrived on Monday July 9th. Her name is Lemar and she is the first born American to the refugee family from Iraq whom I tutor. I went to visit her last Thursday. She is perfect, so small and dainty, with a sweet little mouth and alert eyes. Her family is thrilled that she has been born in America. Their journey has been a long one, from Iraq to Syria (where their son was born) to Turkey and finally to Washington State. Her father pointed out that she will know nothing of Iraq. She will grow up with fir trees, rain, Mount Rainier, and mild summers giving way to cool misty autumns. She will be bi-lingual, speaking arabic at home and english at school. She will watch Sesame Street, eat hamburgers, go to proms, and talk on the phone for hours with her american friends.
Her life will be very different from her parents. I hope it will be peaceful, with an uneventful coming of age, and smooth ride into adulthood.
Nowhere in this world is there the guarantee that life will be smooth and easy. There is no promise that living in the United States will be perfect, without incident. But her parents hope so. They are happy to be here, happy to be learning english, working and going to school to better their lives. They feel safe. They miss their homeland. It is a far away memory, full of dry land and palm trees. But they thank God that here, in this small part of a big country, they have found a new life, and have brought in a new life, a new little American.
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