Muntazar’s Story
The first time I spoke with 16-year-old Iraqi refugee Muntazar, I was taken aback by his comments about the English language. He said that ever since he began learning the language in Iraq, he felt like the words made it much easier to express himself. He told me this was not because his native Arabic was lacking in vocabulary, but because he didn’t know how to speak it on that higher level. He described how as a lawyer and a poet, his father was adept in the scholarly Arabic language, while his mother was a gifted teacher of math–the universal language of numbers.
Since arriving in this country as refugees, his mother is now working as a seamstress while his father attends daily English classes. Their story is emblematic of other skilled workers, like the Bosnians, who came with education, but not English. Muntazar’s command of the language has allowed him to succeed in school and function in society.
It has also allowed him to easily share his family’s story as we’ve been following Muntazar as part of the four-hour documentary series we’re producing about immigration issues, airing in mid-2011.
Category: Refugees
! really enjoyed the article about the muslim boy who immigrated along with his family and he spoke english and it really helped him at school and to be able to translate what his family wants to say about America!