Arkansans help Syrian journalist in move to America

St. Joseph Parish works with Catholic Charities to aid refugee with paperwork, apartment

Published: June 23, 2012

By Patricia May
Fayetteville Correspondent

Patricia May

Omar al-Muqdad, a Syrian journalist who is fluent in English and Italian as well as Arabic, talks about his experiences while relaxing at Fayetteville's Wilson Park on June 9.

Patricia May

Omar al-Muqdad, a Syrian journalist who is fluent in English and Italian as well as Arabic, talks about his experiences while relaxing at Fayetteville's Wilson Park on June 9.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Omar al-Muqdad jokes that his life sounds like a Bruce Willis action movie.

A native of Syria, he's been arrested multiple times, tortured and thrown into prison by his government's police. Eventually exiled to neighboring Turkey, al-Muqdad continued to find ways to sneak back into Syria so he could help news organizations report on atrocities in that Middle East country.

About 9,000 civilians have died since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's government began in March 2011, according to United Nations reports.

Now, he's been granted asylum, one of the lucky few who will be classified as a refugee and allowed into the United States this year. With the help of Catholic Charities, the Diocese of Little Rock and St. Joseph Parish, al-Muqdad recently landed in Fayetteville, where he'll live for a few weeks, at least, until all the necessary paperwork for a normal life is processed.

"I'm lucky because I'm here," he said.

An internet search of al-Muqdad turns up numerous items. He's described alternately as an "activist" and a "journalist," occupations seemingly at odds since journalists are supposed to be objective.

He's become a journalist as he worked with news organizations from around the world, including CNN, to cover activities in Syria. But he's also had a hand in founding several publications.

Explaining his own evolution, al-Muqdad said he was once drawn to the Communist Party. Just 17 or 18 years old, he wrote and discussed its ideas with "the guys" as he called fellow activists. He soon learned the ideas might sound nice but they were unrealistic.

He wrote about things like the prisons in Syria and, with the help of friends, created a newspaper. The government shut it down after one issue and took al-Muqdad off to prison. When he was released, he went back and founded another paper. Same thing -- government arrested him and tortured him this time. Eventually, he was released and, again, created another paper.

Prison couldn't have been pleasant but al-Muqdad speaks of it matter-of-factly. He talks about taking his college exam in handcuffs and leg irons. Asked to explain why the government would ensure his presence at exams, al-Muqdad explained he has family connections in the Syrian government. In particular, one uncle is a highly placed diplomat (since expelled from the U.S.) who seemed to believe his nephew would eventually be of help to him.

Al-Muqdad is the latest refugee that St. Joseph Parish has agreed to assist, but resources come from throughout the community. Parishioner Sara Bishop, who previously worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in New York, is assisting with refugee resettlement in northwest Arkansas.

She explained the Catholic Charities is one of several subcontractors that has agreed to provide social services to people classified as refugees, meaning they cannot safely return to their native countries. Services are provided without regard to the refugee's religion and with no strings attached, she said. The need for services -- and Catholic Charities' mission to provide them -- is based on the Church's teaching to assist refugees and strangers, Bishop said.

In the United States, those people admitted as refugees -- and this year, no more than 60,000 cases are expected to be approved -- are entitled to $1,100 in cash for each family member.

"The whole idea is getting them on their feet but not enabling dependency," Bishop explained.

A family from Bhutan received assistance from St. Joseph last year. A couple with one young child and another on the way, the family's faced more problems in the United States. They spoke no English and had few marketable skills because they'd never lived outside a refugee camp, Bishop said. Eventually reunited with other family members in America, the family has progressed in the months since they left Fayetteville. Bishop said their new baby was healthy, the father has found employment and their older son has already become proficient in English.

Al-Muqdad is a completely different case. Fluent in English, Arabic and Italian, he's a skilled worker and has contacts throughout the country and the world.

Bishop explained that Al-Muqdad was classified as a "free" case, meaning he had no family or sponsor in the U.S. to assist him. He's a man of many contacts, however, and he had met Dr. Mohja Kahf at a conference in the Middle East. Kahf is a University of Arkansas faculty member who works for the UA's The King Fahd Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies as well as for the comparative literature program. She met Al-Muqdad at a conference and offered to help him.

Somehow, that part of his paperwork was lost and it was pure coincidence he wound up in Fayetteville, Bishop said.

Al-Muqdad hopes to find work as his new U.S. paperwork comes through. As a refugee, he's got a fast track to U.S. citizenship and will eventually be naturalized. In the meantime, he's got an apartment near campus, thanks to the generosity of St. Joseph parishioners.

He does hope to return to Syria when the current regime steps down.