April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
COMING TO U.S.
Two immigrant families; two different stories
With parishes' help, Filipino and Iraqi families are now U.S. citizens
For example:
• "I knew I loved it here before I came here," said Ruaad Jasim, who came from Iraq to Schenectady with his family in 2009. Although it was hard for Mr. Jasim and his wife, Moor, to leave their extended families in the war-torn country, they wanted a better life for their children. The family has three girls: Miriam, Rania and Sarah. Sarah was born in the United States.
• The Perez family of St. John the Baptist parish in Valatie came to America for a different reason: "I was young and adventurous," said Marvin Perez. Mr. Perez moved to the U.S. from the Philippines in 2000 to be a physical therapist in Chicago. After going back to the Philippines in 2004 to marry his wife, Shanna, the family moved here permanently in 2006. Their son, Blaise, is in the second grade.
Getting here
"I grew up in a third-world country," said Mr. Perez. "Opportunity is not equivalent there" to what can be achieved in America.
He did have what he called "a rough start," first coming to the U.S. on a work visa that laid out his salary and rights and bound him to a specific length of time.
"I'm just glad I endured," he said.
Although it is hard being away from relatives, the Jasim family is grateful for the freedom they have in the U.S. Mr. Jasim's brothers are still living in Iraq.
"They are scared. They could be killed at any minute," Mr. Jasim told The Evangelist. The family is able to talk on the phone with relatives in Iraq every two or three days.
Mr. and Mrs. Perez have relatives in their native country, too.
"We FaceTime," Mrs. Perez said, referring to online video-chat via cell phones. The couple said they don't know what they would do without such technology.
Although the Jasim and Perez families are away from their extended families, they have both been able to find surrogate relatives in their parish communities.
Parish friends
"They're the best Muslims we have in our parish," remarked Jack Hagerty, a close family friend of the Jasims -- "Uncle Jack" to the Jasim children.
The family was connected with St. Kateri Tekakwitha parish in Schenectady upon their arrival to the United States through Catholic Charities' Refugee Resettlement ministry.
When the Jasims left Iraq, Mr. Jasim recalled, they were told they would be going to New York, but nothing more: "There's a woman; she gave me a ticket. She said, 'Have a good trip.'"
Mr. Jasim and his wife had not heard of Albany; they didn't know if it was a city, state or even another country. After taking a small airplane from New York City -- and "I'm scared of airplanes," Mr. Jasim noted -- the family arrived in Albany, where they were greeted by the open arms of the St. Kateri parishioners, including Mr. Hagerty.
"If I say they are great people, it is not enough," said Mr. Jasim about his "church family. "They never let me feel I have a different life."
Settling in
Since then, St. Kateri's parishioners have been very involved in the Jasims' lives, helping them get settled in their apartment and dealing with the Department of Social Services.
Mr. Perez, too, said that "our church community is part of the reason we settled here."
After living in Chicago and Long Island, he took a job at Barnwell Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Valatie. The family still attends St. John the Baptist parish there.
"It helped us get over this big hump," said Mr. Perez, now a member of the Knights of Columbus. "I'm speechless about all the help."
Mr. and Mrs. Perez believe that their faith has been strengthened during their whole experience. "When I came over, I had nothing," said Mr. Perez. "I had to rely on God and myself."
For the Jasim family, one of the biggest struggles of adapting to life in America has been the language barrier. Mr. Jasim arrived in the U.S. knowing quite a bit of English; his wife, however, was not as fluent.
The family began taking English as a Second Language (ESL) classes that the Department of Social Services had set up. Mr. Jasim completed the program quickly; Mrs. Jasim is continuing the classes.
In the Philippines, school is taught in English. Though it is not their native language, Mr. and Mrs. Perez were able to adapt quickly because of that.
Proud Americans
Both families took the oath of U.S. citizenship this spring.
Becoming citizens means "everything" to the Jasim family, said the patriarch.
"I move here for my kids, for my daughters to grow up in a great country, a beautiful country," he stated. The Perez's are most excited about voting. "That's a big civil obligation to be able to express. I'm so excited to be able to exercise my right to vote," said Mr. Perez.[[In-content Ad]]
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