by Wisam Al-Baidhani

America: land of the free, home of the brave. Those two words convey the fundamental beliefs of this country that first captured my imagination as I was growing up in Iraq under Saddam Hussein’s dictatorial regime.

My father built radios so we could receive outside news, not bound to spew government propaganda. My father’s dedication to exposing my brother Khalid and me to other news sources gave us the space to dream that our country could one day be like America, a country free of dictatorships, tyranny, and based upon the rule of law.  

So when the U.S. military forces came to Iraq, my family jumped at the chance to work with them to bring Iraq the freedom we had been hoping for.

Both my brother and I became interpreters for the U.S. military. I served with Peter Farley, a U.S. Army sergeant in Baghdad’s Camp Rustimayah. Soon, we came under threat due to our affiliation with the United States. My uncle was killed for working with American troops. My brother was shot in the head by local militia—and miraculously survived.

But these dangers only reinforced my commitment and my desire for freedom for Iraq. Eventually the threats for working for Peter and the 340th Military Police Company came to me too. One day I received a bullet wrapped note that read, “This is for your heart if you do not stop working for them.”

My brother and I were fortunate enough to come to the United States through programs that Congress created to protect the men and women who served alongside the United States during wartime—the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) and the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP).  Peter helped me navigate the bureaucracy of resettlement and adjust to life in the United States. I consider him a brother.

Last February I had the honor of taking the oath of my new country. I became an American citizen. It was the proudest day of my life. But one cloud remains over my new home: my father and the rest of my family remain in Iraq in grave danger.

In November of 2016, my father and the rest of my family had been approved for refugee resettlement to the United States after enduring a six-year vetting process. They had been given health checks and a culture orientation, and they had a departure time and day.

The night before they were scheduled to leave, they received a letter from the U.S. government stating that their security check was not cleared and therefore they must stay in Iraq. They had been in hiding for years because of our family members’ involvement with the U.S. forces in Iraq. After coming out of hiding to sell the house, car, and other possessions in preparation for their move to the United States, they were in the spotlight yet again—and in greater danger.

I was distraught, and I didn’t understand how this could happen.

Peter and I requested a review of the denial of my family’s applications and advocated for them for months, collecting signatures, calling members of Congress, and working with nonprofits such as the International Refugee Assistance Project on their case. We recently learned that they have been conditionally approved for resettlement. After last year’s letdown, their hopes are high, but they remain cautious in their optimism.

I am heartened. I live in a country that allows appeals to injustice, and truly considers them. In Iraq, such an appeal would not have been thinkable. I remain hopeful that my country will welcome my father, who gave so much to it during its efforts in Iraq.

The SIV and USRAP legislation saved my life, and Khalid’s. I now call myself an American, aware of the tremendous privilege and responsibility that holds. Long ago my father instilled in my brother and me the desire for freedom, when we would hide inside a cramped room to listen to news from the outside world. My father is the reason why I joined the U.S. military’s fight in Iraq and served proudly as an Iraqi seeking to rid my home of the despair brought upon it by tyranny and oppression. It is because of him that I am able to write my story today and be a part of a society that is governed by democracy and the rule of law—imperfect as it may be.

God willing, the rest of my family will soon arrive to the United States, and they will come as patriots. I am proud to have served alongside the U.S. military, and will continue to advocate for others still stuck in Iraq facing the perils of war.

Let us never forget the values this country was founded upon, values that I have desired all of my life to live by. Liberty, democracy, and good governance are not common around the world. My family whole-heartedly believes American ideals are genuine, that it is a land where we can finally be free, and at home among the brave.

Wisam Al-Baidhani served as an interpreter for the U.S. military in Iraq for four years. He came to the U.S. in 2011 and became a U.S. citizen in February of this year. He is a leaders with Veterans for American Ideals, a project of Human Rights First.