Asraa Family Interview Report

Though it might seem that their family was leaving danger and troubles behind, in reality many new “life struggles” were just beginning. My interview with Asraa has allowed me to see that here in the United States she is faced with a myriad of issues and challenges such as language barriers, cultural differences and discrimination within society. Asraa’s family moved to the United States with a group of other families from Iraq. They all share a common starting point. Asraa says that it has been interesting to see how many of the families who immigrated together have made very different decisions about how to handle American life. Asraa’s family has chosen to stay consistently aligned with their Muslim faith and family values. Though living in Boise, they maintain their Iraqi culture by enjoying food and holidays that uphold their country's traditions. As a Muslim family they worship together and have devoted their lives to living a Godly life and caring for the needs and wellbeing of their family. They watch Arabic television so that they can keep in touch with the happenings of their culture and cook the traditional food that they love. These things help to bring them a sense of home and comfort though they can’t completely fill the space of …show more content…
It is a culture where people share holidays, beliefs and life’s meaningful moments through celebrations and community events. She keeps in touch with her Iraqi friends, who are also in college. She sees their lives and wishes that she could have a similar college experience here, where she would be socially and academically included, surrounded by her friends and culture. I would hope that she would receive comfort and support from her friends in Iraq, yet now that Asraa has moved on, it becomes harder for her friends to understand how much she would love to have their experience, even though she has moved on to a new life in a new