A Congolese refugee in Cleveland has a message for President Trump: he’s no terrorist and neither is his son who has been blocked from entering the country ever since President Trump instituted a temporary ban on refugees.
The President’s order keeps all refugees out of the country for 120 days and all citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations out of the U.S. for 90 days.
Malwila Kasole fled the war-torn Congo several years ago with some of his children for the relative safety and security of Cleveland. He said the war separated him from one of his boys, but a resettlement agency had been working to unite him with the 14-year-old in Cleveland on February 7th. Now, that won’t happen.
“He’s not a terrorist,” Kasole said. “When my son called me in the morning, I cried. I cried. Even now, in my heart, I’m not okay. I’m not good.”
As that order continues to split some families, other refugees are expressing gratitude to the country that gave them new freedom.
Fatima Korsheed and her husband run the Kabab Station restaurant on Lorain Avenue in Cleveland, but their son Omar just moved to Fort Lee, Virginia to serve in the Army.
The Iraqi-born family fled that country in 2005.
“When we come to America, they helped us,” Korsheed said.
Her 20-year-old son, born in Iraq, now calls himself an American.
“The United States is my country,” he said.
