Interview with Hayfaa Ibrahem Abdulqadar, March 23, 2019

Partial Transcript: This is Janneken Smucker and today is, uh--what is today?

Segment Synopsis: The interviewer and narrator discuss the time, place, participants of the interview session, and pronunciation of each other's names. Hayfaa Ibrahem Abdulqadar recalls leaving Iraq with her husband, Bajhat Abdulwahed, adult daughter, Rawnak, and her two grandchildren, Elaf and Aya, in 2005 to Jordan, escaping the Iraq War that started in 2003. After fleeing Iraq, the family heard that the United Nations offered asylum to Iraqi refugees while the United States accepted their immigration. Her daughter told Ibrahem Abdulqadar to apply for refugee status. As a result, Ibrahem Abdulqadar and her husband provided information on their jobs as a television news announcer and anchor and their experience in Iraq to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees interviewers.

Keywords: Asylum; Iraq; Iraq War; Iraqi immigration; Jordan; Names; Refugees; United Nations

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Families.; Immigrants

Partial Transcript: Uh, as I remember, in, uh, in, oh, August--not, not in August, in, uh, December--in November, in November we have the telephone ring.

Segment Synopsis: Ibrahem Abdulqadar remembers that on November 17, 2009, her husband took a call announcing that they may move to the United States as refugees within two days. She expresses how important the day was because they had waited for five years for this news. The couple gathered their belongings as quickly as they could and left to an airport in Jordan to await transport to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City where they traveled to their assigned housing in Philadelphia with the help of immigration service movers. Ibrahem Abdulqadar recalls her husband's surprise that the movers provided him a working oxygen machine due to his respiratory problem. After arriving in Philadelphia three hours later, the movers welcomed the family to their new home as Americans.

Keywords: Immigration journey; John F. Kennedy Airport; Jordan; New York City (N.Y.); Refugees

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Families.; Immigrants

Partial Transcript: So, what was your new home like?

Segment Synopsis: Ibrahem Abdulqadar recalls, when exploring her new home in Philadelphia, she found a patch of land for gardening and neighbors speaking Arabic languages. Abdulwahed questioned if they were truly in Philadelphia because of the similar features to Jordan and Iraq, such as the garden and language. After reviewing their new furniture, the immigration service workers explained the couple will receive food stamps as they become acquainted with their new lifestyle in Philadelphia.

Keywords: Arabic; Arrival; Community; Foodstamps; Gardening; Housing; Nationalities Service Center; Neighbors; Settlement

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Families.; Immigrants; Philadelphia (Pa.)

Partial Transcript: So did you go to a supermarket--

Segment Synopsis: Ibrahem Abdulqadar recalls going to the supermarket for the first time to buy foodstuffs. After eating their cooked meal, they met one of their neighbors who explained to them there are many stores around where they live and will tell them more information later. On their second day living in Philadelphia, Ibrahem Abdulqadar remembers that immigration service workers drove by to taxi her to governmental buildings to obtain social security numbers, passports, and prepare for interviews. The pair lived in their first house in Philadelphia for a year, supplied with oxygen tanks and medicine for her husband. Looking for a spacious house for her husband to live comfortably in, they moved to Bustleton Avenue with their furniture and declared it their new home. She recalls informing their daughter, who was still in Jordan, that they were happy in Philadelphia.

Keywords: Cooking; Food; Foodstamps; Supermarkets

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Families.; Immigrants; Philadelphia (Pa.)

Partial Transcript: And, uh, uh, after that, my husband's li--health been less and less. Not so good.

Segment Synopsis: Ibrahem Abdulqadar recounts that, after moving into her new home on Bustleton Ave, her husband's health declined. Later admitted to Doylestown Hospital, Abdulwahed's doctor told Ibrahem Abdulqadar that he had to stay. Although Bajhat was optimistic as he saw immediate medical care, he still wanted her beside him as he didn't want to be alone. She stayed with him, learning more about his declining health and helping him communicate through writing. He wrote on a chalk board that he wanted his daughter in Jordan to to be with him. With help from his doctor, she was able to visit her father.

Keywords: Bajhat Abdulwahed; Death; Doylestown Hospital; Healthcare

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Families.; Immigrants; Philadelphia (Pa.)

Partial Transcript: After that, we returned home and we say--she stayed--the first time she came she stayed around one month.

Segment Synopsis: Although Abdulwahed's health stabilized during his daughter's one month stay, he was later admitted to immediate medical care prompting his daughter to return to the United States over the course of two weeks for his passing. Before this, she tried to bring her two daughters with her, but, due to travel laws in Jordan, they were unable to travel with her mother.

Keywords: Bajhat Abdulwahed; Jordan; Travel restrictions

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Families.; Immigrants; Philadelphia (Pa.)

Partial Transcript: We were happy really, our life it was nice.

Segment Synopsis: Ibrahem Abdulqadar recalls Abdulwahed and she having many friendships while in Philadelphia. One of these friends was the artist Michael Rakowitz who they met during the "Radio Silence" event in Philadelphia in April 2018 where narrative, poetry, and music, in English and Arabic explores the diaspora felt by Iraqi refugees and immigrants. In the radio broadcast, Rakowitz commented that Abdulwahed's voice was similar to Walter Cronkite, an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years during the 1960s and '70s. Even when her husband passed in 2016, she reassured her friends that Abdulwahed was happy and never alone in Philadelphia.

Keywords: Michael Rakowitz; Mural Arts Philadelphia; Philadelphia Broadcast; Radio Silence; Radios; Relationships; Walter Cronkite

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Families.; Immigrants; Philadelphia (Pa.); Radio broadcasters

Partial Transcript: And we have our citizenship.

Segment Synopsis: Ibrahem Abdulqadar recounts, before her husband's health declined severely, she and her husband obtaining their United States citizenship. Bajhat wanted to experience the process of gaining citizenship, and so Ibrahem Abdulqadar studied for the citizenship test with him. During the citizenship interview when their teacher called Ibrahem Abdulqadar and her husband's names, she received instructions to answer 7 of 10 questions on the citizenship test correctly to pass. Both Hayfaa and her husband passed the test, elated that they now were United States citizens.

Keywords: Citizenship; Citizenship ceremony; Citizenship tests; Studying

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Families.; Immigrants; Philadelphia (Pa.)

Partial Transcript: Why, why was it important for you to become an American citizen?

Segment Synopsis: Ibrahem Abdulqadar notes that citizenship was important to her husband and her as they found kinship and pride in living in the United States and socializing with their neighbors. Although Abdulwahed died without fulfilling his goal of establishing a new career in Philadelphia, Ibrahem Abdulqadar notes he was nonetheless happy he achieved citizenship.

Keywords: "The American Dream"; Citizenship; Reasons for citizenship; Relationships

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Families.; Immigrants; Philadelphia (Pa.)

Partial Transcript: So, you've said that you have made many friends since you came to Philadelphia.

Segment Synopsis: Ibrahem Abdulqadar remembers making her first friend, Susan, through the Nationalities Service Center. She turned to Susan for help settling in Philadelphia, and developed a lasting, familial friendship. Whenever Ibrahem Abdulqadar invites Susan over, she implores her to bring her two sons, who she treats as her own grandchildren, playing and laughing with them. In both her first and second Philadelphia homes, she and her husband quickly made friends with their neighbors who shared Middle Eastern heritage. Ibrahem Abdulqadar also explains that she wants her daughter and her children to move to the United States to live with her, but her daughter wants her children to learn and speak English in school before they immigrate.

Keywords: Friendships; Immigration services; Middle Eastern; Nationalities Service Center (NSC); Relationships; Susan

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Families.; Immigrants; Philadelphia (Pa.)

Partial Transcript: Can I ask you some questions about your life in Iraq before you came here?

Segment Synopsis: Ibrahem Abdulqadar believes that moving to the United States completed her life, finding peace in the United States. Born and raised in Baghdad, Iraq, Ibrahem Abdulqadar remembers small bits of her childhood, typically triggered by meeting old friends from Baghdad whenever they visit her. She remembers that her school was nearby her childhood home. Her family consisted of her parents, four girls, and one boy who later became a lawyer and pianist. After living in the United States for two years, she received a phone call from her older sister telling her that their brother had died. Her older sister then passed after moving to Egypt, while the rest of her family stayed in Jordan.

Keywords: Baghdad, Iraq; Death in the family; Egypt; Family; Growing up; Jordan; Migrating; Siblings

Subjects: Baghdad (Iraq); Childhood; Emigration and immigration.; Families.; Immigrants; Philadelphia (Pa.)

Partial Transcript: All the family left--

Segment Synopsis: Ibrahem Abdulqadar recalls that most of her family left Iraq because of the violence and civil turmoil seen throughout the Gulf War, Iraq War, and insurgence/religious conflicts. Although her brother stayed to retain his job as a lawyer, the rest of the family left while thieves stole their belongings. She recounts the desolation of Baghdad during wartime, with many citizens killed. This contrasted to her peaceful childhood in the city she loves.

Keywords: Gulf War; Iraq; Iraq War; Migration journey; Wartime

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Families.; Immigrants; Iraq War, 2003-2011.; Persian Gulf War, 1991

Partial Transcript: When you were young, did you--after you--you recalled primary school, did you go to, uh, secondary school also?

Segment Synopsis: Ibrahem Abdulqadar recounts attending a secretary school during her secondary education, learning how to speak English, type, and organize books and files. After secondary school and marriage to Abdulwahed, she went on to work as a news announcer with her husband as news anchor. Their daughter followed her mother's career and works as a news announcer in Jordan.

Keywords: Baghdad, Iraq; Education; Secondary education; Secondary language; Secretary schools; Typing

Subjects: Baghdad (Iraq); Careers.; Education, Higher; Occupations.; Professions.

Partial Transcript: Can you tell me how you met your husband?

Segment Synopsis: Ibrahem Abdulqadar remembers meeting her husband for the first time while working at a news broadcasting studio. While they were married, they read the news together, having their friends tease them about their professional and personal relationship. Together, she and her husband raised their daughter, Rawnak, born in 1968, while Hayfaa continued to work in journalism. When their daughter finished college as a business and administration major, a neighbor asked Ibrahem Abdulqadar and Abdulwahed to marry their her; at first she refused as she was only age 19. After two years, their neighbor approached them again, and Rawnak agreed to marry him.

Keywords: Dating; Marriage; News broadcasting; Relationships

Subjects: Careers.; Education, Higher; Families.; Marriage; Occupations.; Professions.

Partial Transcript: So, I know be--I've, I've studied history that then there was a lot of conflict, beginning in the 1980s with, uh, the Iran-Iraq war.

Segment Synopsis: Ibrahem Abdulqadar recalls leaving Iraq for Jordan before the start of the Iraq War during the summertime in 2006, taking and selling her belongings during the move. Renting a house, they waited out the war. While the war continued in 2009, they filed for refugee status with the United Nations to immigrate to the United States. Her daughter moved to Jordan first for a new job as a news announcer. They brought with them clothing, food, blankets, and other smaller items, leaving everything in Baghdad, Iraq.

Keywords: Drives; GNC; Jordan; Migration; Moving

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Families.; Immigrants; Iraq War, 2003-2011.

Partial Transcript: What was your life like in Jordan? What do you remember about living in Jordan?

Segment Synopsis: Ibrahem Abdulqadar recounts having a case of homesickness while living in an apartment in Jordan. Although enjoying the peace while living there until 2009, she and her husband made plans for immigrating to the United States under refugee status.

Keywords: Apartments; Homesickness; Jordan; Paperwork; Refugee status

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Families.; Immigrants

Partial Transcript: When you arrived in Philadelphia, um, did the, did the people from NSC help you?

Segment Synopsis: Ibrahem Abdulqadar remembers workers from the Nationalities Service Center helping her move into her new house in Philadelphia, surprised to find food in the refrigerator and cooking implements in the cabinets. What she loves about Philadelphia when she arrived was the familiar lifestyle. For example, the courtesy of Philadelphians led to a kind stranger giving his seat to Abdulwahed when his health declined. Later on, a car stopped by and the driver offered them a ride to their home, which they accepted.

Keywords: Arrival; Hospitality; Nationalities Service Center; Settlement

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Families.; Immigrants; Philadelphia (Pa.)

Partial Transcript: And you feel that you, you--you feel like an American now?

Segment Synopsis: When Ibrahem Abdulqadar was young and attending her English classes in school, she loved to speak English. Her brother drew her to learn American English in a class with fellow Iraqis. Her teachers noted that her pronunciation was sublime and wanted her to study the meaning behind her words. Her love of English furthered itself when she immigrated to the United States where she proudly proclaims herself as an American, speaking with other fellow Americans and forming friendships with them whether speaking English or Arabic. Finally, her bilingualism with English helped her husband receive the care he needed while in the hospital as she translated from Arabic to English.

Keywords: Arabic; Bilingualism; Education; English as a second language; Learning English

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Families.; Immigrants; Philadelphia (Pa.)