MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) – Eight Iraqi refugees are headed to New Hampshire this week in hopes of rebuilding their lives far from their war-battered homeland.
Officials say the refugees are people who have helped the U.S. military’s war effort in Iraq and would have been in danger of retaliation had they remained.
“The Iraqi families that are coming through now are people who are friends of America,” said Carolyn Benedict-Drew, president of the International Institute of Boston, which helps settle refugees.
Once they arrive, the refugees will get medical checkups, English lessons if necessary and food stamps to help them get started in their new home. In return, they are expected to get a job within 41/2 months and eventually repay the cost of their airfare.
In recent months, 10 Iraqi refugees have settled in Concord or Manchester. The group arriving this week includes two doctors.
Unlike refugees from many other countries, most of the Iraqis are highly educated and highly employable, said Amy Marchildon, director for international services for Lutheran Social Services of New England. They include interpreters who have a strong command of the English language.
After a year of residency, all refugees are required to apply to adjust their immigration status to permanent resident alien. After five years, they may apply for citizenship.
Since 1980, more than 5,000 refugees have been resettled in Manchester from a variety of countries. In the years that followed the first Gulf war in 1991, New Hampshire received 86 Iraqi refugees.
The U.S. government expects to admit up to 12,000 Iraqi refugees by next October.
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Information from: New Hampshire Union Leader, http://www.unionleader.com
AP-ES-01-27-08 1118EST
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