Earlier this week, we posted a This American Life episode discussing the difficulties Iraqi refugees face in seeking asylum in the United States. Today, CBS Sunday Morning featured a story about an Iraqi camera man that made it to the US with his family.
Here is a description of the story:
Lancaster, Pa., is not where I thought I’d find him. But here in a place where the old so easily meshes with the new, maybe there was no better place to find an old friend’s new home.
We hadn’t seen each other in more than a decade, since the unwelcome circumstance that first brought us together: the war in Iraq.
It was in Baghdad on the eve of the U.S. invasion that I first met Atheer Hameed.
He was an Iraqi photographer, a cameraman, well-known in Baghdad for his work shooting soap operas and documentaries. CBS News hired him not only for his eye, but for his language and local knowledge.
But it turned out Atheer’s greatest asset was his courage.