NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - Just a few months ago, Ramez K. Aldarwish had never heard of Connecticut.
But since he arrived in New Haven in late July, the 38-year-old refugee from Syria has come to think of the state as “a beautiful paradise.”
“I’m very happy here,” Aldarwish said in Arabic, speaking through an interpreter. “At least I know I am safe.”
Aldarwish and his wife left Homs, Syria, in 2011, as a civil war was tearing the country apart. First they went to Jordan, but that was only a temporary stop before the couple and their two young children received permission to come to the U.S.
They are one of four Syrian families who have settled in New Haven with assistance from Integrated Refugee Immigrant Services, or IRIS, a city-based nonprofit that helps newcomers from all over the world rebuild their lives. A fifth family arrived in New Haven late last week. Overall, 1,500 Syrian refugees have resettled in the U.S. since the civil war began.
With heart-rending images of desperate migrants flooding into Europe, some have called on the U.S. to do more. President Obama recently issued an order allowing up to 10,000 refugees from Syria into the United States during the next fiscal year, but even that is not enough, said Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy. ...
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