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'We had to flee to save our lives'

Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published September 21, 2007

Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic Nano Toma, daughter-in-law Sanaa Yousif, her children Korkis, 1, andMiriam, 5, and Toma's daughter Zena, 19, are a long way from where they were persecuted for their faith in Iraq.

Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic Madlene Zitto and her sister,Shameran Zitto, share a laugh with Shameran's husband, Astefan Zrow Yousef. The families live across the street from each other.

Sterling Heights — Astefan Zrow Yousef was scared for his family.

He was scared for the persecution they were receiving because of their faith.

He was scared they would be forced to abandon their Chaldean faith.

And he was scared they would be killed for trying to escape that life.

For much the same reason, Issa Toma, his wife Nano and their families had already fled from Iraq to the safety of Turkey. Both men had a common goal — to live with their families in peace.

Yousef waited until June 2004 — when his younger children had finished school for the year — and left his home near Baghdad for Turkey. "It was a very bad time," he said through an interpreter from his new home in Sterling Heights. "We left everything behind. We had nothing. We had to flee to save our lives.

"We decided to flee before we got problems from anybody. It was very hard for us."

For three years, the family lived in a Turkish basement, working when they could. Yousef, his wife, and their six children arrived in metro Detroit just over a month ago. They have a place to live — a house across the street from Yousef's sister-in-law — and are working on paperwork to get themselves settled. They've also started attending St. George (Chaldean) Church in Shelby Township.

"Escaping Murder and Mayhem" The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops recommended the U.S. government provide resettlement aid for 25,000 Iraqi refugees in the next fiscal year. One-tenth that number is expected to arrive by the end of the year. "Iraqi refugees with relatives in the United States should be considered for U.S. resettlement on the basis of family reunification, dropping the requirement that they enter as refugees or migrants," said the report, "Escaping Mayhem and Murder: Iraqi Refugees in the Middle East." The report was issued Sept. 10 in Washington, D.C. "Many are in mortal danger," the report said. "The U.S. should consider allowing them to apply in place for U.S. resettlement without having to make the dangerous and expensive trip to a nearby country, which may not admit them in any case." - Catholic News Service

"We have to go step by step," Yousef said. "I think we have a good future here, for everyone — especially the kids."

Yousef's family is one of many displaced Iraqis leaving their home country to escape the persecution and violence there. The Archdiocese of Detroit has helped to settle more than 200 people since the recent wave of refugees arrived in July.

"We were very excited" about coming to the United States, said Shameran Zitto, Yousef's wife. "We were waiting, minute by minute."

The family now lives in a comfortable yet sparsely furnished home, with cozy couches and a fireplace, and a back yard with a patio. There's not a lot of extra space — his four daughters share one of the three bedrooms — but it's made homey with a few recent family pictures on the mantel and cookies in the kitchen. A picture of the Last Supper hangs above the dining room table.

Yousef said he's determined to stay on the correct path here in the United States, applying for their Michigan identification cards, learning English, finding jobs, and becoming a part of the community. "We are going to try to do things the right way, follow the rules," he said. "We are happy and excited to be here."

Yousef's son, Moushtaq Zrow, 23, has kidney problems and needs to have dialysis several times a week. Here, he has much better access to a doctor, and his health has improved. However, he will eventually need a kidney transplant, and his family will likely have to find a way to pay for the procedure.

"We want to depend on ourselves," said Zitto. That is how they did it in Iraq and Turkey, her husband adds.

Their faith has been strengthened by their trial, Yousef said, and they are a stronger family now. The family also prays for everybody left in Iraq, he said.

He said he does not expect to see peace in Iraq in his lifetime. "It's not easy," he said. "There are a lot of problems."

A few blocks away, in another modest house in Sterling Heights, the extended Toma family is also getting settled into a much safer life. The Tomas, their younger children, and their son's family fled from northern Iraq to spend four years living in a small apartment in Turkey before they were approved to come to the United States.

In Iraq, the children were prevented from going to school, the parents couldn't work, and the family couldn't go to church. "The situation was very bad," Nano Toma said, also through interpreter Sam Monsour, of the Archdiocese of Detroit's Refugee Services office. "There were a lot of problems for Christians at the time."

In order to save their lives, they had to flee with nothing but the clothes on their backs. "Nothing. We lost everything," Nano Toma said.

Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic Miriam, 5, and Korkis, 1, children of Sanaa Yousif, play in the first yard they've ever known.

Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic Moushtaq Zrow, 23, and his parents, Astefan Zrow Yousef and Shameran Zitto, live with Moushtaq's five other siblings in Sterling Heights, after fleeing from Iraq to Turkey for their safety.

In Turkey, they applied for refugee statues in the United States, arriving late last month.

What's most important to her family is that they are living in a safe place, in a safe country, they agreed. "It's very quiet here," Toma said. "I am happy we're OK, living in a good situation. We thank God."

Although their house, too, is sparsely furnished, there's enough room for Toma's young grandchildren to run around, and a bit of a backyard to play in. Little Miriam, 5, breaks away from her mother to run to the neighbor's swing set. She comes back when called, reluctantly.

Zena Toma, Nano Toma's 19-year-old daughter, is already taking English as a second language classes and is singing in the choir at St. George. The family attends there and St. Joseph Chaldean Parish, in Troy.

"The plan is to go to school, to learn English, to learn the language and to find a job," Nano Toma said. "That is most important – to go to school."

Nano Toma said she prays every day for friends and family still in Turkey. "We ask God to save everyone, and to let everyone leave that country," she said. "Our faith is in God and in Jesus Christ."