The rate at which news is produced in America, and the amount of time average Americans have to consume that news, makes it difficult to read beyond headlines and top stories. And so, while hearsay and chatter about scandals in our national government dominate the front pages of almost all American news outlets, the narratives of humanitarian crises and international political strife fly under the radar of everyday people in the U.S. The fact of the matter is that, in America, our distance from bloody civil conflicts (both geographically and socially) relegate them to background noise.
It would be easy, then, to forget that war and genocide have ravaged the Darfur region of Sudan for the past fifteen years. In that time, hundreds of thousands of casualties have been reported, many of which were non-combatant civilians in the conflict, while even more Sudanese citizens have been displaced by the violence that rages around them. With no end to the fighting in sight, many refugees emigrate in order to protect themselves and their families. Recently, one such case occurred at Just Neighbors: a forty-year-old man named Musa came to our offices looking for a green card in order to secure his footing here in the U.S. Musa was born in Sudan in 1977, but when war broke out in 2003, he and his wife left the country to live in Egypt. While this relieved the immediate danger from Sudan’s conflict, Musa still searched for better opportunities, and this pursuit brought him to the U.S. in August 2016.
Though his wife had remained in Egypt, Musa hoped to apply for an American visa on her behalf. He found a job with an international airline, and while inquiring for a path to secure a green card, an immigrant friend from Somalia told him about Just Neighbors. With the guidance of a Just Neighbors attorney, Musa completed his Lawful Permanent Resident application; after months of waiting, he received his green card on June 1, 2018. Musa also applied for a visa on his wife’s behalf and recently received its approval. With his green card in hand, he plans to get a better job with his employer as well as visit his wife in Egypt. His story of success stands out against the bleak background of the Darfur conflict, and it serves as a reminder that, despite the front page news cycle or the current White House administration, the immigrant narrative continues to develop in the U.S. In fact, it is an integral strain of American identity and history, whether her citizens are aware of it or not.
Please visit this link to learn more about the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan: http://endgenocide.org/conflict-areas/sudan/