Zeinab
Gender: Female
Age: 25-64
Race: Other
Nativity: Foreign Born
Educational Attainment:
No High School
Occupation: Homemaker
Travel Time to Work: 30 Minutes
Internet Access in the Home: Yes
Religion: Muslim
City: Raleigh
Narrative:
Behind a big smile you can see the lines of grief and strife on this Sudanese refugee woman’s face and hands. On Fridays, this elderly Muslim woman can be found sitting in Exploris Museum crocheting beautiful scarves with other refugee women. Zeinab is a skilled craftsperson and sews all of her own clothes. Zeinab has been living in Raleigh with her son, daughter, and grandchildren for four years. She is often alone with her grandchildren because her daughter is taking care of a sick sister in Greece. Zeinab is learning to speak English but only Arabic is spoken in the home. Born in Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan, Zeinab informed us that she was the second of three wives of a Sudanese soldier. Zeinab’s family fled to Egypt when after son, Emad, put the family at risk by speaking out to Sudan’s government about its genocide in Darfur. Emad then emigrated from Egypt to the United States, where he filed papers for refugee status for Zeinab and her family. “Praise Allah” she says, while raising her hands in the air, “We are unharmed.”
Her son Emad has played a monumental role in her and her grandchildren’s lives. After the United Nations helped bring Zeinab to the United States, Emad worked with Habitat for Humanity to build their current home, and then joined the U.S. Army as a translator to provide the family’s only form of income. Emad recently returned from service in Iraq, and is currently stationed in Texas.