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Tell Me Your Story – Interview with Ibrahim, age 31
Interview conducted by Azher Adnan
Azher: Ibrahim spoke to me about the circumstances of his interview with the UN Refugee Commission, saying: “My family – which consists of my wife, myself, and my daughter (name withheld) - went to our interview at the appointed time. In the beginning came the question as to our sect – Sunni or Shi’a – and why we left Iraq. They asked what pushed us to seek refuge in Egypt, if we were threatened in Iraq, if our living condition was OK, about our health, and where we were living. They gave us information about our rights as refugees with regards to the Commission, and handed us the Yellow Card.”
As for his reasons for coming to Egypt, he said: “I wanted to go to any place that would protect my family and me from terrorism and the sectarian militias in Baghdad. I have a friend in Egypt who got me a visa, and I came quickly leaving everything behind me with only a modest amount of money in my pockets.
He, like many Iraqis, finished his university studies in the school of Fine Arts and completed his military service. He tried to look for employment in Iraq, but without luck. He said: “I traveled to Syria intending to find a way that would help me arrive in a country that respects humanity – but I returned to Iraq after a short time because I saw Syria as being not much different from Iraq at that time. When I returned to Iraq I opened up a small barbershop in the Zayouna area1 but did not enjoy the benefits of this shop.”
“When the American forces entered Iraq the labor sector suffered from recession. I had married just a short time before this, and I was forced to borrow large sums of money. After that, it was suggested to me by my cousin that I work with him in supplying the needs of the Americans – he had been procuring some of these things in Samarra. I worked with him for a time, and afterwards worked as a barber FOB Wilson,2 in a shop assigned to my Jordanian cousin. I worked in total secrecy, fearing being “liquidated.”
Regarding his exposure to threats, he said “I experienced threats on behalf of unknown persons, who threw an envelope at me containing a 9 mm bullet. I informed the police department of this, and had a copy of [the warning]. After that I fled to my relatives in the al-Khalij neighborhood, but I received threats from other militias there, and decided to flee outside of Iraq – also, in February of 2007, terrorists blew up my barbershop but by that time I was in Egypt where I met my cousin.“
As for the circumstances of his life in Egypt, he said that his apartment has been robbed twice, and that his wife has been threatened with theft. All of this happened in 6th October City, and he has a record of the thefts.
To the question of the extent of his readiness to stay in Egypt, or if he prefers to return to Iraq, he answered no, he does not want to stay in Egypt because he believes that it does not offer the conditions for foreigners to provision themselves. Furthermore, there are no opportunities for decent work. As for returning to Iraq, he refused this quickly – he hopes to travel to a third country that can offer his family and him decent living conditions. He added that he sees daily that he is a persona non grata in Egypt, through harassment where he works in a small barbershop.
He sees the UNHCR’s role negatively, in addition to other organizations such as Caritas that did not heed his pleas for aid.
