Iraqi refugees dream of reuniting family in Minnesota

In the early days after the U.S. military forced Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from power, many Iraqis thought their country would have a better future.

Among them was Mohammed Al Azzawi, a civil engineering consultant who worked with the World Bank to rebuild the country's infrastructure during the war.

A year ago, he and his wife, Amel Al Sammarraie, the deputy director of Baghdad's Children's Hospital, left Iraq for a new life in the United States. Their journey brought them to Fridley, where these days they are reliving their experiences in the film Amel is producing, "The Iraqi Dream."

"We thought everything would be better," Mohammed says in the documentary. "Instead, Iraq was completely destroyed."

Amel, who is receiving guidance from local filmmaker Nathan Fisher, is one of a group of Iraqi refugees working with the Minneapolis-based Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project to put her experiences on tape. The work of the first-time filmmakers will be screened Tuesday at Macalester College in St. Paul.

As violence escalated in their homeland, militias targeted them and other educated professionals.

"The U.S. government decided to leave Iraq," Mohammed said. "We thought it would be a good idea to leave Iraq too."

They were hopeful that Mohammed's work with the World Bank increased the family's chances of being resettled in the United States.

"We submitted all our documents and they accepted our case," he said.

Eventually, though, it became clear that U.S. authorities would only issue refugee visas to Mohammed and his wife.

Their daughter and two sons, all in their 20s, would not be able to come to the U.S.

Why, Mohammed asked, "shouldn't children over the age 21 be able to be saved, too?"

Mohammed and Amel considered turning down the visas and staying in Baghdad. But the International Organization for Migration advised them that after they became U.S. citizens it would be much easier to get their children to safety in the United States.

They plan to become citizens so that they can sponsor their children.

With no control over the bureaucratic process that has separated them from their loved ones, they decided to put their energy into sharing their story, in part by making the film.

The documentary reflects the struggles of many refugees as they start over in a new country.

"We cannot buy a house in Minnesota because we [are] always thinking to whom we will leave all of this after we pass away?" Mohammed explains in the film. "And we cannot sell our property back in Baghdad because our children must still live there."

But at its core, their story is about separation — and the fear that comes with it.

Because her husband cooperated with the United States, their children in Iraq remain in danger, Amel explains in one of the film's scenes.

"Our youngest son graduated from engineering college," she says. "But he stays locked inside our home in Baghdad all day. We do not want him to leave our home or get a job. We are afraid for his life."

For them, making a film about their lives, with its constant reminders of the dangers their children must navigate half a world away, hasn't been easy.

"Every day we think about reuniting our family," Mohammed said. "This is our only dream."