[00:00:09.08] [BIRDS CALLING]
[00:00:10.52] - Imagine, just imagine, I am a girl, 17 years old. I live with my happy family in an area called Sinjar. My mother prepares our breakfast. My father prepares for his work. My brother is sleeping on the roof. Calm, peace, love, beauty. At that moment, I feel like I was in a part of heaven. It was [SPEAKING ARABIC].
[00:00:52.02] [BIRDS CALLING AND WINGS FLAPPING]
[00:00:54.27] Wait, what are these sounds? I called, "Mother, Mother, what are these sounds?" The sky was black with smoke, flowers were sad. I smelled the blood in everywhere. I called, "Mother, Mother, where are you? Why you don't respond? Oh my god, they are coming closer." I screamed and screamed, "Help, help!" What a nightmare that never ends. I ran to the mountain with my tears and pain.
[00:01:30.83] ISIS is close to the north of Sinjar. We didn't take anything with us. We left our house, clothes, memories, photos. We didn't take anything with us. We just left.
[00:01:50.35] [GENTLE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]
[00:02:42.13] - In 2016, Nebraska resettled the most refugees per capita in the United States. A refugee is a person who is forced to flee their country in fear of persecution, whether that's for their race, their religion, their ethnicity. This is not their choice. A lot of times, they are the innocent victims of terrorism. They have to leave for their lives.
[00:03:13.62] I think it's important as we hear these terms and we're learning about what's happening around the world, to hear the story of one person. It really helps to put in perspective why we welcome the stranger here in Nebraska. Shireen has been in the U.S. for almost two years. She was captured in 2014 and was made a slave of ISIS. And she was a slave for one year. And she is with Carey, who will be interpreting for her.
[00:03:51.41] - [SPEAKING ARABIC]
[00:03:55.22] - It was a devastating day when ISIS surrounded our villages and killed thousands of our boys and girls, and took many other Yazidis five years old up to nine to a sex slave market, and thousands of other kids are still missing from their loved ones.
[00:04:22.72] ISIS electrocuted me, they made a surgery on me, and I'm still missing family. It breaks my heart and I cannot sleep
[00:04:32.80] without tears every night.
[00:04:46.83] - Every refugee has a story, and every story is different.
[00:04:56.71] Omaha is an extremely welcoming place. Because we are a conservative state, people assume that refugees aren't welcomed, but it is really the opposite. I love when people meet people and barriers are broken down. People who did not have hope may have the opportunities that we hold so dear. I can remember when Sahar and Akmed arrived.
[00:05:29.88] [CLAPPING]
[00:05:38.32] They are from Aleppo province, and they experienced a bomb falling on their home. Akmed has told us about children's schools getting bombed, children dying. And so you have everyday Syrians caught in this horrible terror.
[00:06:01.64] The U.S. hand-picks the refugees that come to our country. They are vetted very closely. And if there is any doubt of someone's background, they don't get to come.
[00:06:18.79] - When a group wants to co-sponsor a refugee, we have to have a home prepared for them fully furnished, groceries in the fridge, toys for the kids, and make it this beautiful home.
[00:06:47.66] After years of waiting and living in refugee camps and hoping for peace to return, just a few are able to make it to the United States for permanent resettlement. Tonight, we have G. Her full name is Gharghasta. G was the youngest woman to be elected into parliament in Afghanistan. She built schools and hospitals and was fighting for women's rights, and she is here in Omaha as a refugee.
[00:07:20.15] [APPLAUDING]
[00:07:23.09] Thank you, G.
[00:07:25.19] Speak loud.
[00:07:28.58] - Hello, everyone. It's really an honor for me to talk to you guys about my story as a refugee.
[00:07:41.42] During the wartime, there was no educational facility for girls in Afghanistan. So that's given me the idea that we should represent our province in parliament and we should have a strong voice for them. I become a member of parliament in 2005 and I was elected for five years. Feroz was like a good friend for me in the palace. He always supported my project. He was there for me like a strong voice. And we fall in love with each other. So we get married and we have a wonderful life.
[00:08:22.20] - I was press officer to the president of Afghanistan, to Hamid Karzai, for almost seven years, and liaison officer between the international communities, international embassies in Afghanistan. Now, two power altogether, the presidential palace and parliament of Afghanistan. And she is the youngest member of parliament. And we are having the same goal-- work for a woman, work for girls, work for democracy.
[00:08:51.45] - But some people, they don't like when you work for people, and they are the people who do war in my country. So Taliban attacked me. They attacked on my car and even they tried to kidnap my son, and he was only nine months old.
[00:09:17.15] - We were having a meeting from the U.S. embassy and I found out that there is an assassination attack planned on those U.S. diplomats. I pick up my phone and I call them, and I told them to not come to the meeting. I saved Americans' life. I saved American military soldiers' life and the diplomats.
[00:09:41.91] The next morning, I was threatened face-to-face that they will cut me in pieces and they will cut my son in pieces and my wife. I had no choice to leave the country less than 24 hours.
[00:09:56.28] We left our country by hugging my mom.
[00:10:05.02] [GENTLE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]
[00:10:09.93] - I think what's so amazing about my mom is she's kind of a badass. When I was interested in Christianity, she was like, "You gotta go, you gotta go to church, you gotta figure it out." When I converted to Islam, she was like, "This is your life, and we support you and love you."
[00:10:29.30] Then when I went to India, it blew my mind. I just remember thinking, like, how can these two places exist? And then came back and wanted to work with refugees, and haven't stopped.
[00:10:46.25] I think really for me, I have found my purpose. And when you have found your purpose and you are living your purpose, it's not work for you.
[00:10:56.12] - Are you all singing with Murphy?
[00:10:59.19] - Come and give me kisses. Woo! He is-- we call him the Polish Hammer.
[00:11:05.76] When Komron came, he didn't speak English. There was no cell phones or nothing, so your dad wrote you a note, and it said,
[00:11:12.88] "Lacey, I think one of your students called. He couldn't spell his name."
[00:11:18.85] - I-- I remember you picked up the phone and you were like, "Hello?" And I'm like, oh, no.
[00:11:24.54] - And I was like, that's not my student, Dad. That's my boyfriend.
[00:11:31.82] - When you come to the United States, it's literally one of the only places on Earth where you can be you, you know?
[00:11:40.81] Nothing brings you more happiness than freedom, you know?
[00:11:45.42] That's how I feel.
[00:11:47.80] - When I started wearing hijab, I told him-- because I was Muslim for, like, three years before I started-- and I said, I think I really want to do this. And he was like, "Are you sure?" He tried to talk me out of it, and I was, like, no, I'm doing this. And I think that's the most unfair part, though, about the way the West perceives Muslims and Islam-- is they assume the worst about the men. They assume he's oppressing me and he's a bad person, you know? And it's just, like, can't I just make my own choice?
[00:12:23.89] [GENTLE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]
[00:12:33.79] - A lot of people in the southern part of Sudan were struggling because of the civil war. I grew up in Dimma refugee camp, and we stayed there for nine years. And it was through the United Nations resettlement program how we ended up here in America. This is something that I'm really, really, really grateful for. And it's an opportunity that less than 1% got the chance to earn.
[00:13:05.48] I think the difficulties for me came in when I began to learn how the world perceived me. Because I'm a refugee, because I'm dark skinned-- that's where the challenges of living in America began to set in for me. The only way that I could learn to act was through sports.
[00:13:31.46] Basketball was the one place where I can be me, you know? Everything else can disappear. But the desire to be a part of the solution is what caused me to let go of a professional basketball career. To be back in my community and to serve young people through the Omaha Talons basketball program is part of the reason why I made that choice. I think that's a responsibility, and I think that's a gift.
[00:14:10.63] - I was born in southern Somalia. My parents owned farms and animals. Growing up, the food was not an issue. We had plenty of everything. And then the civil war started.
[00:14:28.15] I watched helplessly as militias from rival tribe waged war against my people, my neighbors. And my dad, he was tortured that morning, but he was lucky enough to escape eventually, so he did not die.
[00:14:47.48] The following morning we join a group of other refugees. And we had nothing else to rely except on wild fruits and dead water. Many people died on the road. So in 1992, we ended up in this refugee camp. Eventually grew up to be the largest refugee camp the world has ever known, Dadaab. And that was our life for the next 15, 16 years.
[00:15:21.86] - The photo that shook the world, I think, that photo of Aylan Kurdi, the little boy who was on a beach in Greece--
[00:15:30.05] that was a photo that I could not get out of my mind.
[00:15:36.07] I'm a mother of two young children and I just thought, I need to do more than I'm doing in my current life to support the refugee communities globally.
[00:15:44.88] And so I did find an organization that accepted volunteers for humanitarian relief working primarily with refugee women and children. And we provided them with baby carriers, which at that time were hugely important.
[00:15:59.75] Since that time, I realized I can't keep jumping on a plane to Greece, and so I decided I needed to look for ways to be an activist on behalf of refugees in my own community.
[00:16:11.32] A couple neighbors and I have decided that we are going to make refugees and refugee resettlement the cause of our neighborhood. The one family that I'm working with,
[00:16:22.98] they have lived in a war zone,
[00:16:24.51] they've lived with a lot of insecurity. They're excited to be here and we want to bring this family into our lives and really have a long term relationship with them as they navigate our community.
[00:16:42.60] - The crisis of refugees was something that wasn't or is not new to the Jewish people,
[00:16:48.51] something that our grandparents,
[00:16:50.11] our great grandparents felt.
[00:16:53.29] And so when the opportunity presented itself to have a project where we were sponsoring a Syrian family, we jumped on the opportunity to make a difference in their life.
[00:17:07.63] It didn't matter that they weren't Jewish. They were running for their lives and we said, "We've got your back." The kids-- watching them is the real blessing. The difference that will make, God willing, is that they'll feel like they had the blessings of our country.
[00:17:33.38] Everyone has something to contribute. There are some mentors that have helped the family with English. They're there every other day.
[00:17:40.82] - Yes, yes it is very...
[00:17:44.40] I'm very, very happy, because in America,
[00:17:48.98] getting in this school, get in I look, I before and I no got-- my hands no got--
[00:17:55.72] - She never held a pencil.
[00:17:56.83] - Couldn't.
[00:17:57.40] - I could not hold a pencil.
[00:17:59.65] - I no hold a pencil, because I no go to school in Syria. No go to school in Jordan. Anything. Just here in Omaha.
[00:18:15.79] - Well, I first noticed Muslim families moving in across the hall from me and then upstairs. And after 9/11, you know, I had this just growing hate for Muslims for what they did to our country. And I couldn't wait for the bombs to start droppin'. And I would see them comin' out and just cringin'. And I'd see-- I don't know. what do they call the--
[00:18:42.39] - Hijab.
[00:18:42.98] - Hijab. I would just see them and just sneer at them and just like-- like it was doing-- like I was doing any good. Like I was getting my message across-- like, "I hate you."
[00:18:52.26] - Right.
[00:18:54.09] - I just never knew how much I could hate somebody
[00:18:56.46] without even knowin' 'em, you know?
[00:18:59.89] I'm gonna start crying.
[00:19:05.10] So I'm praying for this change in my life, and all of a sudden I didn't have this hatred in me anymore.
[00:19:14.70] - Yeah.
[00:19:15.83] - Slowly but surely, it was just going out, you know, and just "Hi," and just the transition of meeting 'em and seeing the family is really what kind of started changing me a little bit. I just seen that they were just family-oriented and they weren't the Muslims that I had portrayed.
[00:19:39.93] - Right.
[00:19:41.34] - They were not the terrorists.
[00:19:45.03] - Right.
[00:19:45.86] - Thank you.
[00:19:46.80] They were just an ordinary family.
[00:19:51.93] When my story went on Facebook,
[00:19:54.87] there were some comments on there about one guy said,
[00:19:57.55] "Well, wait for them to blow up your apartment building."
[00:20:00.83] And I said, you know what, you're just as ignorant as I was.
[00:20:03.81] - Hi, John!
[00:20:05.06] - Hi, Osama!
[00:20:20.66] - How are you?
[00:20:21.65] - Hey, buddy!
[00:20:23.14] - Good to see you, man.
[00:20:24.62] - How are you doing?
[00:20:27.60] - I can't accurately describe the bond between the soldiers and their interpreters. Fred was a favorite among the guys and he had proven his loyalty with 10 years of service to the United States military. He's been out on over 500 missions. He'd been involved in about 100 attacks of one type or another.
[00:20:55.07] The reason I'm involved in this, I guess, is because I got a strong sense of justice from being with the FBI. And I couldn't stand the fact that this guy, Fred,
[00:21:04.79] had done so much for us and he wasn't gonna get his visa. It was a brotherhood as strong as any I've ever seen. And when it came time to help him, they stepped up.
[00:21:19.79] - Woo!
[00:21:25.58] - Oh, man!
[00:21:28.00] - Welcome home.
[00:21:29.45] - Buddy, it's been a long hard fight, huh?
[00:21:33.56] It was just beautiful to watch it all fall into place. The whole bunch of the guys that he served with had driven from 3:00 in the morning to greet him at the airport.
[00:21:45.22] - David Lemoine, even the doctor told him, you're not supposed to fly, but he did it.
[00:21:50.63] - They shot my car two times with RPG. They shoot me many times, but they couldn't kill me. They sent a threat to my family, but they couldn't kill me.
[00:22:00.45] When I arrived at Dulles International Airport, that was the greatest part of my life.
[00:22:08.82] [UPBEAT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]
[00:22:22.44] - Sometimes we have the adults eat first,
[00:22:25.17] and let the kids play until they're hungry.
[00:22:30.14] - [SPEAKING ARABIC]
[00:22:31.82] Oh!
[00:22:32.17] - OK?
[00:22:32.98] - OK.
[00:22:33.34] - OK.
[00:22:35.06] - No problem.
[00:22:37.45] - Better. Better this way.
[00:22:40.76] Everyone feels such a bond with this family. That love and that trust that has formed so quickly is quite astonishing. They have really embraced us with open arms. And Sahar, when we told her about her birthday party, she said, "You all brothers, sisters, I love you."
[00:23:05.56] [ALL SINGING] Happy birthday dear Sahar!
[00:23:13.35] Happy birthday to you! Woo!
[00:23:27.33] - Oh, thank you!
[00:23:29.85] - You're welcome.
[00:23:33.58] - Thank you, thank you.
[00:23:40.29] [APPLAUDING]
[00:23:42.25] - The president of the United States.
[00:23:44.49] - Today, I'm signing two executive actions--
[00:23:47.84] - Turn it up.
[00:23:49.51] - And this is the protection of the nation from foreign terrorist entering into the United States.
[00:23:58.65] - I was not expecting that here in this democratic country. Basically calling me a terrorist because of my religion.
[00:24:07.53] - I'm establishing new vetting to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of
[00:24:14.19] the United States of America.
[00:24:16.53] We don't want them here.
[00:24:18.67] - Islam is a religion of peace. The hope that we had that this is a free country, I just can't believe. I'm really sad.
[00:24:34.01] [SOMBER INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]
[00:24:48.07] - Because of this executive order, people like me who have served this country were not allowed to come to the United States. There are many interpreters who lost their lives
[00:25:01.85] or their loved ones because of supporting the U.S. mission in Afghanistan or Iraq. We have been killed for this country.
[00:25:13.39] - Becoming a refugee is the last step in your life. You don't care that if you have food, if you have water, if you have, you know, a home. You just want to be safe.
[00:25:27.95] Hey!
[00:25:36.82] - In this crowd we have newly arrived Syrian refugees, newly arrived families from Burma, from the Congo, from Iraq, interpreters for our
[00:25:50.44] U.S. military from Afghanistan who saved American lives.
[00:25:55.42] [CROWD APPLAUDING]
[00:25:57.46] I need you to be a little louder to show them you want them here!
[00:26:01.66] [CROWD APPLAUDING]
[00:26:05.74] Refugees are the life of our community. They are mothers, they are fathers, are brothers, are sisters. They build our economy, they fill our neighborhoods with love, and we welcome you.
[00:26:21.77] [CROWD APPLAUDING]
[00:26:23.92] - My name is Dekow Sagar. I am a Somali by nationality. I'm also a proud black Muslim and American by choice.
[00:26:32.70] [CROWD APPLAUDING]
[00:26:34.61] I love this country called America
[00:26:36.16] because it has given me hope, safety,
[00:26:40.61] and most importantly, a home. We are one from North to the South, from East to the West. Thank you.
[00:26:50.79] [CROWD APPLAUDING]
[00:27:06.61] - And how many years you were in the refugee camp?
[00:27:11.63] - From 1992 to 2007. So I spent a lot of time there.
[00:27:17.90] - Almost your whole childhood.
[00:27:19.72] - Yeah.
[00:27:21.99] - Plus it's that if my dad could have died in the civil war,
[00:27:26.21] I wouldn't be sitting here today. I could have just died out of thirst because of the heat and we were fleeing. And he has to leave us under shade of tree and come three or four hours later with water. Even if I was safe from bullet-- you know, stray bullets-- I could have just died a natural death.
[00:27:48.67] - I'm thankful right now my kids are not there to see those harsh scenes that we have seen. Even though I'm here, my family, my relatives,
[00:28:00.27] all of them are back home. And whenever there is an attack in Afghanistan, that day is my worst day.
[00:28:08.86] - I lived in a war country-- all I know is fight. You know, people dying in front of me. Taliban cutting people's heads-- you know, beheading. This is how my, you know, childhood was.
[00:28:20.84] - Now this is my home and this is your home.
[00:28:23.83] - This is-- yes.
[00:28:24.77] - And we do care about everything... Before coming to the United States, I hated American football. But now I'm a big fan of football. Every Saturday and Sunday night, I sit down until like, 10:00, 11:00 PM, and watch every game.
[00:28:44.69] [UPBEAT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]
[00:28:54.06] - I think Lincoln, Nebraska, is a well-hidden secret. A little bit untouched by national politics, national sentiment in terms of the conversation about immigrants and refugees.
[00:29:10.14] Lincoln started welcoming Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees after the Vietnam War. So we've had now 40 plus years of people coming not just as immigrants, but as refugees seeking safety and asylum.
[00:29:25.21] [CROWD NOISE AND CHATTER]
[00:29:26.19]
[00:29:31.58] Our Syrian family has five children. We spend so much time when we're together laughing. And it ends up being the most fun, joyful part of my week.
[00:29:44.22] [UPBEAT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]
[00:29:56.72] - James is just a inspirational superhero.
[00:30:03.08] Is this the first time you've met Sarah?
[00:30:05.45] He was 12...
[00:30:07.89] - Yes.
[00:30:08.52] - ...and naked, and walking for three months with this-- I mean, that's unbelievable.
[00:30:15.31] - I know.
[00:30:15.92] - And then now to just have that fire that you have.
[00:30:18.44] - That passion to get clothing to other kids.
[00:30:21.10] - Yeah.
[00:30:21.46] - Yeah.
[00:30:23.11] - James was in charge of a group of boys in the refugee camp, and they would get their clothing ration for the month. And there would be 12 boys, but they would only get five articles of clothing. And that never left him.
[00:30:39.62] So he began this organization to clothe refugees in the camps to restore their dignity. And if you see him at a parent-teacher conference or at the grocery store, he looks like a million bucks, because he knows how important clothes are to making you feel human.
[00:31:03.68] - I feel really good and I appreciate the people of USA for bringing me to this country. And that is why you see me thinking back
[00:31:12.41] about those who are in need, to help them. And this is the first time since 1987 to be a citizen for a country.
[00:31:24.66] - It is amazing to see this many faces. We'll talk a little bit about the executive order, which might have drawn you here today. We typically do one volunteer information session a month and get maybe five or six people. And we had 38 people last week and we have you guys this week.
[00:31:46.83] In the United States, our refugees are from all over the world. It takes an average of three to five years to get through our rigorous vetting system. CIA, FBI, Department of Justice, Homeland Security, biometrics, fingerprinting, iris scans. They have to go through rigorous interviews. And so if there's any discrepancy, they're not allowed to come into the United States.
[00:32:14.16] Recently there was an executive order that was signed that essentially stopped refugee resettlement, and then today we found out that that has been overturned. So refugees will still continue to come now.
[00:32:30.61] [UPBEAT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]
[00:32:39.04] - Have you learned about Fourth of July? Fourth of July in America is a very big holiday.
[00:32:47.29] - Yes.
[00:32:47.80] [IMMITATING FIREWORKS]
[00:32:48.29] - Yeah, it's very loud.
[00:32:50.65] - Our declaration of being our own country was on the fourth of July...
[00:32:55.70] - Yes.
[00:32:56.20] - ...in 1776.
[00:32:59.54] - That's our birthday. It's a birthday of America.
[00:33:01.97] - Birthday in America.
[00:33:02.65] - Right.
[00:33:03.28] - America-- not just Omaha, America.
[00:33:05.53] - No, America. The whole country, and there are...
[00:33:09.88] - Mohammed, do you like fireworks?
[00:33:13.98] - Yes.
[00:33:14.98] - Good.
[00:33:23.96] [UPBEAT MUSIC AND SINGING]
[00:34:04.88] [FIREWORKS EXPLODING]
[00:34:12.86] [GENTLE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]
[00:34:28.36] - In 2004, when I graduated from high school, I was selected to be a translator
[00:34:34.78] for U.S. Army forces in Afghanistan. We helped each other to fight against terrorism. Until 2017, I never lived in peace.
[00:34:47.13] - You got another one! Get him out, you got another one!
[00:34:52.36] - My wife, she said. I made a big mistake. "You're going to die soon. And me and my son will be alone." But I told her, just be patient. One day, we will move to the United States.
[00:35:20.20] - The day I met Dave, it was always "Fred, Fred, Fred." He would tell everybody. So it's like a dream for him to be here now.
[00:35:31.04] - What happened with Fred was he had helped in the capture of a high-ranking Taliban member. And they got his name and they put a note on his father's door saying, "We know what your son is doing. He will be captured alive and he will die like no other."
[00:35:49.46] Fred did a lot of great stuff, but there are so many-- so many guys that have also done a lot of great stuff, and nobody knows it. You hear the term "the unsung heroes," these aren't the unsung heroes, they're the unknown heroes. Nobody even knows they were in the game.
[00:36:10.76] - When the first executive orders came out it was very emotional, because typically we've resettled about 70,000 to 80,000 refugees a year. But President Obama had set that limit up to 110,000, because there are 65 million people
[00:36:28.28] who are displaced right now. And then the executive order that was issued took that 110,000 down to 50,000.
[00:36:38.15] I've been doing this for 15 years, so this is a program I know, I trust. And so for me, I think that the folks who are advocating like Dave,
[00:36:49.16] who have been on the front lines,
[00:36:50.54] who know what our vetting process is,
[00:36:52.82] what our refugees have gone through-- It'll be OK. I think it'll be OK.
[00:36:58.40] - Dave is the one-- he did too much for me. I know three languages, but I don't know how to thank him for everything he did for me.
[00:37:05.51] - You know when you thanked me? When you saved those 25 guys' lives that night in the jail. You didn't have to thank me. This country needed to thank you. In the closing years of my life,
[00:37:17.84] I want to be sure that people like him get what they-- what they earned.
[00:37:25.06] [PENSIVE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]
[00:37:35.43] - You killed my brother, you killed my father. You raped my sister, you captured my mother. You cannot make our nation ashes. We will stay alive.
[00:37:48.19] We will stay alive. Those were last words she said.
[00:37:54.21] "We will stay alive," and then she killed herself before ISIS raped her. At that moment, I realized
[00:38:04.65] it's not a nightmare, it's reality. It's the reality.
[00:38:17.01] I wrote this poem because it was a memorial of what happened to the Yazidi people when ISIS attacked us in Sinjar city.
[00:38:28.73] The beginning of the poem is pretty much my own story. Like, my family, when my dad came to the house and said, "Run to their car, ISIS almost in the city."
[00:38:38.86] - What was that process like emotionally for you to write that piece?
[00:38:43.43] - It was hard to remember everything, but it was like taking everything inside me--
[00:38:48.38] like all my feelings and put them in papers. Because a lot of people don't know about
[00:38:53.84] what happened to Yazidis. To say, like, who we are, and how we never give up. And no matter what happened, we are strong and we keep going.
[00:39:04.46] - Yeah.
[00:39:04.73] - Yeah.
[00:39:09.43] - In 2014, ISIS invaded a part of northern Iraq inhabited by the Yazidi people and ISIS committed genocide. Shireen was a slave for one year. She was raped more times then she can imagine. But she survived.
[00:39:36.10] - [SPEAKING ARABIC]
[00:39:41.75] - ISIS kidnapped 47 of her own family-- her uncles, brothers, sisters, everyone in her family. And she doesn't know anything about them.
[00:39:56.89] - [SPEAKING ARABIC]
[00:40:09.24] - She-- this is so hard. She doesn't have a life after ISIS kidnapped her brothers. They were selling Yazidis-- women and girls-- because... They sold her five times,
[00:40:29.04] because they would give her to someone and when they get bored of them or, like, they get everything they want, they don't want them anymore. And they would give them to someone else. So it was like a business for them.
[00:40:46.56] - Does she have a photo of herself before ISIS?
[00:40:50.31] - [SPEAKING ARABIC]
[00:40:55.71] They killed all those people and kidnap them for no reason-- only because they were Yazidi,
[00:41:01.98] only because their religion was different.
[00:41:20.48] - This one is also a refugee camp from Afghanistan. So he traveled with us all the way from Afghanistan to Omaha. In Afghanistan, it's still dangerous. But still, of course we miss our country. Because I miss family, I miss people of my country. I kind of homesick of the smell of my country. But as a mother, I have bigger responsibility. So missing home will be forever.
[00:42:00.16] - All right, gonna get bowlin'.
[00:42:13.93] - Since I've been here, I can't see any problem for myself. My biggest problem is my concern right now about my two brothers and mom and dad back in Afghanistan. They're not safe, I'm 100% sure. The people that I served, they're not soldier, they are my brother. We're all one family. Amazing thing.
[00:42:47.73] - America has given us almost everything, I think. I came 10 years ago. I had no dollar, dime in my bucket when I landed at JFK. As of now, we are home owner. It's not a mansion, but it's a very decent house that we have a roof over our head for us and for our kids.
[00:43:14.42] I had 7th grade education by the time I came to this country. I have two master's degrees today. If you happen to look different, your name sounds different, you speak with a accent, of course, people will ask you, "Where are you from?" That's a reality that you have to live with. What I'm really grateful or thankful, I have three daughters and three boys.
[00:43:42.73] The oldest guy was born with a heart defect. I was quite relieved to know that
[00:43:49.39] I live in the best country in the world where he can get superb medical care. And after a year or so, we eventually managed to do open heart surgery. He's the reason I wake up every morning and dress up and keep rolling regardless of the challenges I face in life.
[00:44:14.09] [UPBEAT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]
[00:44:29.39] - The number of people who've been involved has been incredible. And it's not what people think about, but there is a Midwest hospitality that if you're here, you're part of the fabric of our community.
[00:44:45.29] - I don't know if they had ever met a Jewish person before. I don't think so. But it's all just following the golden rule and seeing, really, the commonalities that we all have.
[00:44:59.09] - This is not about politics, it's not about religion. It's a humanitarian effort. They came from a refugee camp in Jordan for 2 1/2 years. They hit the lottery and got to come to
[00:45:11.28] the United States of America. And they come off of an airplane with nothing.
[00:45:15.56] So I think that they're going to do fine, but it's a long road. And they'll get through it.
[00:45:26.35] [GENTLE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]
[00:45:40.56] - You know, I've heard what people say about,
[00:45:42.75] "Oh, refugees are taking people's jobs." But from what I see, they are doing the jobs that a lot of people do not want to do.
[00:45:53.21] I'm in the mortgage industry and I help people get finance for their houses. The refugees from Burma really have touched my heart because their whole goal is to buy a house.
[00:46:08.03] There was a gentleman that I worked with-- two years ago he was living in a refugee camp. And now he has-- he owns his own home.
[00:46:20.69] I mean that's the American Dream,
[00:46:22.43] and that's what they are living.
[00:46:40.93] - Refugees and immigrants are such hard workers. We have added employees from 17 different countries and it's about 30% of our workforce. The freedom to work that they never had now becomes
[00:46:59.50] a dream come true for them.
[00:47:03.58] - Originally I come from Iraq. I come with a background, law degree. I start in company as a machine operator,
[00:47:11.38] then move up slowly to become a president of the company. Now we work as a family, you know? It's refugee, non-refugee, immigrant, non-immigrant. You know, we're part of the community right now. That's what we love about this country, we love about state of Nebraska-- to give us this opportunity to work as an American citizen.
[00:47:54.40] - I'm Muslim, and I work with refugees all the time. So when I turn on the news and I see people scared of Muslims and I see them scared of refugees, it's so bizarre to me because that is exactly my life.
[00:48:08.45] That's like my life experience.
[00:48:10.22] And so I have this, like, fire and desire, because I am a white American also, to connect those worlds so people don't have that fear.
[00:48:21.53] - 3, 2, 1, go!
[00:48:23.83] - When you rule on fear, people get misinformed very easily. Whether that's Americans scared of Muslims, or refugees scared that they're going to be detained or-- you know. There's a lot of misinformation that goes around. People are scared because they don't know. They don't know.
[00:48:49.68] - Good job!
[00:48:58.07] - Now it's up to the U.S. Supreme Court. President Trump's bid to bar travel from mostly Muslim nations went before the justices today. Jeffrey Brown...
[00:49:07.87] - So do you have any hope?
[00:49:09.68] - Yeah, for me, this-- it can't go through. Like, you know, I have faith that the courts will do the right thing. It has to.
[00:49:19.85] - So am I a cynic that I don't share your optimism?
[00:49:24.18] - Chaos erupted at airports where newly arriving travelers were detained, followed by a wave of protests.
[00:49:30.80] - My hope is that the Supreme Court will make the right decision
[00:49:34.31] so that that path is a little easier.
[00:49:36.23] But I-- I know you're optimistic,
[00:49:39.65] I'm just not sure I share it.
[00:49:41.30] - That decision is expected by June.
[00:49:48.09] - Influence is something that you've had on all of us as a community and just throughout our years of school and all this. Your influence has remained.
[00:49:59.83] - You know, and a big part of what my role has been, it's really just creating space where you can be yourself and you can have the confidence to know that,
[00:50:07.58] hey, you know, who I am, what I have within me is good enough.
[00:50:11.73] Hey, fellas, let's say this is a live game and this is the guy that I'm guarding right here.
[00:50:16.24] I step in front of him, need help, the ball gets swinged. This is why we close out right now.
[00:50:20.65] Shot. Start guarding him low enough to now where I can move my feet.
[00:50:26.27] For young South Sudanese kids in this situation that I was in as a kid, just having somebody there for you to be a mentor and to be a source of direction-- that's a major, major, major difference.
[00:50:43.17] You pushed through. You guys should be really, really proud of yourselves. Let's get a drink of water and then we'll go have fun.
[00:50:48.96] And the things that really make the Omaha Talons Academy a special place, it's the brotherhood. These young men get to come and be a part of a really, really big family of guys that know exactly what they're all going through and they're willing
[00:51:03.58] to go through it together.
[00:51:08.19] To be in a position where you can influence and almost mold a young person's life, it's a blessing. The right leadership is what the Talons is creating.
[00:51:20.99] I feel like we have a purpose being in America, man. And right now, there's more refugees than any time in human history that are suffering. And this is a world that people created. People are putting each other through this. For me to be in a position as an adult man where I can build around my little brothers, you guys, seeing your greatest potential--
[00:51:45.50] this is more than I can never ask for, man.
[00:51:48.35] - I mean, that's what you always taught us. You either putting the work in, or you're not. It's that simple.
[00:51:58.99] [GENTLE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]
[00:52:14.94] - I was born into a white middle class family that's well-educated. I could have been born in the hillsides of Guatemala. And I want my kids to understand that this privilege that we have-- we didn't earn it. There is no reason why we can't turn around and help folks who need us.
[00:52:33.50] Happy Thanksgiving!
[00:52:36.14] Sahar, I'm making some lamb.
[00:52:38.51] But I am not good at making lamb. So you have to help me, OK?
[00:52:45.03] OK, come on in. Come on in.
[00:52:48.71] As we face this more tumultuous time in terms of the place of immigrants and refugees being let into our country, it's important for folks like us who know refugees-- it's important that we speak up. And I want to raise kids, you know, who are able to do that.
[00:53:05.45] OK, looks like we got everything.
[00:53:08.03] Let us remember those among us that have less to be thankful for, and find ways to share our nation's bounty with all of those in need. And now we get to eat our turkey! Are we ready?
[00:53:22.73] OK, Mohammed, turkey?
[00:53:24.65] - Yeah.
[00:53:25.41] - Yes?
[00:53:26.69] Do you want to try cranberry?
[00:53:28.49] - What?
[00:53:29.48] - Cranberry. It's very Thanksgiving.
[00:53:32.12] - Yeah.
[00:53:33.09] - Yeah? OK. Good job. Sahar, you can sit with me.
[00:53:43.16] Next Thanksgiving, I'll come to your house.
[00:53:46.91] - Yes.
[00:53:47.90] - Yes? OK.
[00:53:50.73] [UPBEAT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]
[00:54:01.40] - Thank you for coming!
[00:54:03.73] - We have three families that we're shopping for. A Syrian family of seven, a Kurdish family of seven, and then a single mom who's Yazidi from Iraq and her son.
[00:54:14.45] Gillian and I co-sponsor a Kurdish family. So they're Muslim, they're from Iraq. And so we asked them really kind of nervously and timidly, would you like a Christmas tree? And they were all over it. I mean, I'm not a religious person and I celebrate Christmas.
[00:54:33.81] The response to this was overwhelming. And every time I think about it, quite honestly, I tear up at how wonderful and generous our friends and neighbors are.
[00:54:41.77] It's just such a great group of women.
[00:54:51.49] [APPLAUDING]
[00:54:54.94] - After 14 hard months in Turkey
[00:54:57.76] selling everything we had, including--
[00:55:03.12] our-- our wedding bands-- the United States of America accepted us as a refugee. And we become a part of this great nation.
[00:55:13.71] [APPLAUDING]
[00:55:14.68]
[00:55:17.59] - When we first arrived in the United States, G suggested to go to Omaha, Nebraska, where President Karzai had sent her in 2006 to attend a class. Of course I looked up Omaha in Google Maps...
[00:55:29.71] [LAUGHING]
[00:55:30.75] ...and thought, G, come on! It's in the middle of nowhere!
[00:55:36.20] [LAUGHING]
[00:55:37.82] But guess what? I was wrong. I finally listened to my wife...
[00:55:42.52] [LAUGHING]
[00:55:43.76] ...and we moved to Omaha. I now know it's in the middle of everywhere.
[00:55:48.97] [APPLAUDING]
[00:55:54.66] Through all this change, though, one thing has been true-- we never give up.
[00:56:01.45] - Never give up.
[00:56:02.04] - Never give up.
[00:56:09.95] - I feel lucky now, because I am feeling same love here from people as I had back home.
[00:56:16.39] - What a powerful conversation! That was really great!
[00:56:20.09] - Once I have a break from my kids, I would love to get involved in the community responsibility as a social worker or working for government, school system. And of course, gun control. We love safety. That's why we came here.
[00:56:45.40] - The fact that you can come to America with nothing and become something,
[00:56:51.79] that's what makes America very distinctive. Unfortunately, this is not a good time for refugees. But it's a struggle that we have to go through. And we hope the end result will be in favor
[00:57:09.88] of the refugee program.
[00:57:13.42] Hey, can I have a vanilla latte, extra shot, extra hot?
[00:57:19.49] - Have a good day.
[00:57:20.37] - Thank you.
[00:57:25.47] I do have a hope in the Supreme Court. We have faith in the Constitution. Hopefully, American values will prevail.
[00:57:49.19] - My friends and acquaintances I've met through refugee work, this community is incredibly welcoming. The Kurdish family, we had imagined that our kids would grow up together. I mean, that was our original goal.
[00:58:03.21] With my husband's job,
[00:58:04.93] an opportunity in Canada came up. We weren't searching for Canada per se,
[00:58:09.74] but the idea of living in a place
[00:58:11.78] where people with differences
[00:58:13.85] are not just tolerated, but are really welcomed, where the government is enthusiastically supportive of bringing in immigrants and refugees, we kind of want that bubble a little bit. So we do feel like there is a political element to our decision. We want to feel like our values are reflected not just in our neighborhood or our community, but in our country and in our government and our leadership.
[00:58:38.99] [SOMBER INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]
[00:58:53.84] - When the travel ban was overturned, we thought we'd be back to welcoming
[00:58:59.24] and resettling refugees, but that didn't happen. Where we would be getting about 100 refugees per month, right now we're getting about 15 or 20. And we have not resettled any Muslim refugees.
[00:59:39.55] - Since her family got kidnapped, she thinks about them all the time. And mostly her youngest brother, because when they saved Shireen, they were holding each other's hand. And he told Shireen, "Just go and don't wait for me. Just save yourselves."
[00:59:56.67] - [SPEAKING ARABIC]
[01:00:02.59] - She would never forget that voice.
[01:00:06.08] - She has three siblings in Canada.
[01:00:08.92] - Yes.
[01:00:10.10] - Because the U.S. isn't resettling refugees,
[01:00:13.61] - Right.
[01:00:14.09] - so they got sent to Canada. So she said she wanted to see them again. Her family in Canada was supposed to arrive today.
[01:00:22.38] - Today?
[01:00:23.36] - Today.
[01:00:24.50] - That would be so nice.
[01:00:26.60] - Right now, the U.S. embassy,
[01:00:29.75] they refused the visas for her family.
[01:00:34.49] It's been heartbreaking, because we're ready in Nebraska, we're ready in Lincoln to welcome Yazidis. We were prepared to take 500, we are still prepared, but they're still not arriving.
[01:00:52.68] I know this is how it works
[01:00:53.98] and I know it's not an easy process,
[01:00:56.72] but you just get your hopes up that some sliver of hope-- like, something will happen. And some hope in this story-- like, you know, Shireen needs some hope. I had my hopes up that the United States would give this woman a win.
[01:01:21.27] - This is a CBS News Special Report. The Supreme Court has just ruled on President Trump's travel ban for people from seven countries, most of them predominantly Muslim.
[01:01:30.81] - The U.S. Supreme Court has let stand
[01:01:33.42] the president's travel ban.
[01:01:35.04] - There is no doubt this is a legal and a huge political victory for President Trump,
[01:01:39.72] who's been fighting for the travel ban ever since he first took office. He's argued it's a matter of national security and protecting the U.S. from Islamic militants. Opponents, of course, have said it's racist because the ban targets mostly Muslim majority countries.
[01:01:58.20] - I don't think people, like, understand what it means to us.
[01:02:02.00] - No. No.
[01:02:08.93] And not even to us-- to the families we serve.
[01:02:12.48] - I hope people understand, like, the implications of this ruling will lead to the exact same thing of families that won't be able to be reunited.
[01:02:21.06] - I can't be shocked anymore.
[01:02:23.31] When I got to the office, one of our former employees, she just came in and she was crying. You know, I want to be in this physical space. I want to hug and just share condolences.
[01:02:36.72] - It floors me. I never thought that at my age, in the year 2018, this is what we would be facing. It's shocking. I just never-- I don't think anybody could have predicted that.
[01:02:48.12] - We were hoping it would be a celebration.
[01:02:50.22] - Yeah.
[01:02:51.51] - But now it's like we all need to be together. And, you know, I didn't want to do a protest or a vigil. I wanted to do something it was like, you know what, we're going to have a picnic, we're going to eat. You know all of our refugee friends are bringing trays and trays of food just to share.
[01:03:03.55] - Yes, like they always do. Yeah, yeah.
[01:03:05.83] You know, love is the most important thing we can do for each other right now.
[01:03:09.72] - Onward, onward.
[01:03:14.07] [UPBEAT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]
[01:03:29.50] - It's a perfectly timed moment for people to just be in community with people who value
[01:03:36.94] the same thing that they do.
[01:03:42.51] The thing that has been a silver lining through all of this is the amount of engagement in our community.
[01:03:54.95] - These events have pushed people out of their comfort zones and reaching out and saying, "How can we help?"
[01:04:10.29] - Thank you so much for being here. We all hoped that we would be able to celebrate a very different Supreme Court decision, but at least we can be here in solidarity to commiserate a decision that did not go the way
[01:04:25.49] all of us here had hoped. The act of welcome should not be politicized. Welcome is more than just a nice thing to do. It's a survival tactic.
[01:04:36.26] For without the welcome, embrace, and contributions of newcomers from every corner of the globe, our communities are neither vibrant nor healthy. And we can show the world that by welcoming one another into our lives, the world will be not only a better place, but a safer place.
[01:04:55.72] [CROWD APPLAUDING]
[01:04:57.19] So we stand here tonight to say that we stand for welcome. We stand for welcome!
[01:05:07.53] [CROWD APPLAUDING]
[01:05:09.00] What do we stand for?
[01:05:10.97] - [ALL] Welcome!
[01:05:12.45] - Thank you.
[01:05:14.41] [CROWD APPLAUDING]
[01:05:22.82] - The biggest reason that this has a big impact on Nebraska is that it's not what we contribute to newcomers. It's the contributions that newcomers bring to us. I really believe when people get the opportunity to connect and to learn, that fear goes away, that hate goes away. I mean, there's just nothing to fear and hate anymore.
[01:05:55.93] People just came out. They wanted to stand up for their values and welcoming refugees is a cornerstone of American values. This is our legacy as a country-- to be welcoming. From conservative to liberal, people said, we want to be a part of making Nebraska a welcoming place.
[01:06:46.52] - Thank you for joining our country and its experiment in government by the people. Welcome to the United States, ladies and gentlemen.
[01:06:56.36] [MUSIC - EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROES, "MAN ON FIRE"]
[01:06:56.79] - (SINGING) I'm a man on fire walking through your street, with one guitar and two dancing feet. Only one desire that's left in me, I want the whole damn world to come dance with me.
[01:07:19.35] Ohh, come dance with me. I'm a hunter at bay. Come set you free. Over heartache and shame. I wanna see our bodies burning like the old big sun. I wanna know what we've been learning and learning from.
[01:08:01.91] Ooh. Everybody want safety-- safety love. Everybody want comfort-- comfort love. Everybody want certain-- certain love. Everybody but me.
[01:08:25.90] I'm a man on fire walking down your street, with one guitar and two dancing feet. Only one desire that's left in me, I want the whole damn world to come and dance with me.
[01:09:00.70] Da da da da da da da da la la la.