poongunranar
Registered Users (C)
Moral: Just don't take attorney advice as gospel truth. Educate yourself with more procedures and immigration law.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002865740_siddickfamily15e.html
Zimbabwean family awaits decision: Can they stay?
MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES
The Siddick family fled their native country of Zimbabwe five years ago, settling in Kirkland. The family are parents Ayoob, seated center, and Amida, seated left; and from top left, children Maleeka, Mason, Rashaad and Salma.
For the Siddick family, it all comes down to what an immigration judge may decide Thursday — whether the family is granted asylum or deported to their native Zimbabwe.
But regardless of what the judge may say, Amida Siddick knows her family has found a community that has given them the hope, and the funds, to fight to stay.
"I've been impressed — blown away really — by the people in this community," said Amida, surveying her four children, ages 13 to 22, in the comfortable living room of their rented Kirkland home.
Five years ago, Amida and Ayoob Siddick and their children drove into Kirkland with two pieces of luggage each and the desire to find a safe place to call home. After fleeing the deteriorating political conditions of Zimbabwe, they stopped briefly in Vancouver, B.C., where they heard that King County's Eastside offered safe neighborhoods and good schools.
Within weeks they had rented a home and enrolled all four children in the Lake Washington School District. Ayoob got a job with Home Depot and Amida became an office assistant at Lake Washington High School. The kids made friends and settled into school life; son Mason was named captain of the Lake Washington High School football team.
But on the immigration front, things weren't going so well. Because of questionable legal advice the family took early on, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had refused to renew the family's visa and denied them asylum. The family has appealed.
As the word spread, the community rallied. A series of student fundraisers brought in more than $16,000 in recent months for attorney costs. Lake Washington High School held food fairs and put on a "Zimbabwe Night" featuring the Siddicks as guest speakers. Students organized a letter-writing campaign asking the immigration judge to grant asylum to the Siddicks. Donation envelopes were placed in classrooms so students could give their spare change, and parents and local businesses were also asked to contribute.
"You look at all the problems in this world, and how huge and overwhelming they are, and you feel you can't do anything about it," said Abby Higgins, 17, a senior at Lake Washington who helped organize the fundraisers at the school. "But with the Siddicks, we have an opportunity to make an impact."
In the process, the school also raised awareness about conditions in Zimbabwe, a country in the midst of turmoil. Its government is headed by President Robert Mugabe, an authoritarian ruler who was not elected freely by the country's people, according to the State Department's 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, released March 8. The long list of human-rights violations includes politically motivated killings and kidnappings, torture, rape and abuse of people perceived to be opposition supporters, widespread government corruption and arbitrary arrest and detention.
Both Ayoob and Amida were members of the Movement for Democratic Change, the opposition party to Mugabe's ruling party.
advertising
"My biggest fear is for my children. If we're taken away, we may be going back to torture, corruption," Ayoob said. "I don't think any parent would want to be in my position right now."
The department can't comment on specific cases, said Sharon Rummery, spokeswoman for the USCIS Western Region.
"If an officer doesn't grant asylum, you have the right to take your case before an immigration judge," Rummery said. "Asylum is a very compassionate exercise of the law, and many people have been saved through refuge and asylum."
Dubious advice
Ayoob and Amida met their first immigration lawyer in Zimbabwe when they attended a seminar about how to migrate to another country. The New York-based attorney told them their best bet was to apply for a visa that would allow Ayoob to establish a business in the United States.
After they arrived in Kirkland, the family watched their nest egg disappear as they waited nearly a year for their attorney to file the proper paperwork to allow them to start a business.
As conditions in Zimbabwe continued to worsen, the family asked the attorney if they should apply for asylum and were told not to, that they could apply later if need be. They later found that the law requires that immigrants apply for asylum within one year of arriving in the U.S.
"If the Siddicks had known that, they almost certainly would have filed that application, and almost certainly would have been approved," said Robert Pauw, the Siddicks' current immigration attorney.
The family nevertheless applied for asylum several years ago, which allows them to work while the application is being processed. The application was denied by an officer with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The family appealed to an immigration judge, who will hear the case Thursday.
According to USCIS' latest statistics, it granted 14,359 people asylum in 2004, 243 of whom were from Zimbabwe.
Under U.S. law, asylum applicants have to show they can't go home because they face persecution for their religion, race, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.
Pauw said he believes the Siddicks have a well-founded fear of persecution if they return to Zimbabwe, and he is hoping the judge will allow an exception to the one-year rule.
Kirkland feels like home
The family says that America, and the community of Kirkland, is now the only home they have. Three of their children have graduated from Lake Washington High School, the last being their son, Mason, who now attends Carroll College in Montana on a football scholarship. The youngest son, Rashaad, 13, attends Rose Hill Junior High. Their daughter, Salma, 22, attends Roosevelt University in Chicago, where she received an academic scholarship. Daughter Maleeka, 20, is studying radiation therapy at Bellevue Community College.
"We've always been an ambitious family," said Ayoob, an engineer who ran a mechanical-engineering and steel-fabrication business in Zimbabwe. "Our prime motive was our kids. We felt the best things to do for our kids is to arm them with an education."
Since they have come to the United States, Ayoob said, they have learned valuable lessons about the goodness of people, and how to keep a sense of humor through difficult times.
"We've learned patience. We've learned to be humble. And I've learned I've inherited high blood pressure," he said, laughing.
The Siddicks aren't sure when the decision will be made. If the judge denies their request, they will appeal.
Ayoob's parents still live in Zimbabwe, and tell him conditions continue to decline. People carry guns everywhere, they say. They are afraid to stop at traffic intersections. Homes are covered in security bars.
"I'm hoping I can one day sponsor them here," Ayoob said.
Rachel Tuinstra: 206-515-5637 or rtuinstra@seattletimes.com
Information about asylum law was provided by The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002865740_siddickfamily15e.html
Zimbabwean family awaits decision: Can they stay?
MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES
The Siddick family fled their native country of Zimbabwe five years ago, settling in Kirkland. The family are parents Ayoob, seated center, and Amida, seated left; and from top left, children Maleeka, Mason, Rashaad and Salma.
For the Siddick family, it all comes down to what an immigration judge may decide Thursday — whether the family is granted asylum or deported to their native Zimbabwe.
But regardless of what the judge may say, Amida Siddick knows her family has found a community that has given them the hope, and the funds, to fight to stay.
"I've been impressed — blown away really — by the people in this community," said Amida, surveying her four children, ages 13 to 22, in the comfortable living room of their rented Kirkland home.
Five years ago, Amida and Ayoob Siddick and their children drove into Kirkland with two pieces of luggage each and the desire to find a safe place to call home. After fleeing the deteriorating political conditions of Zimbabwe, they stopped briefly in Vancouver, B.C., where they heard that King County's Eastside offered safe neighborhoods and good schools.
Within weeks they had rented a home and enrolled all four children in the Lake Washington School District. Ayoob got a job with Home Depot and Amida became an office assistant at Lake Washington High School. The kids made friends and settled into school life; son Mason was named captain of the Lake Washington High School football team.
But on the immigration front, things weren't going so well. Because of questionable legal advice the family took early on, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had refused to renew the family's visa and denied them asylum. The family has appealed.
As the word spread, the community rallied. A series of student fundraisers brought in more than $16,000 in recent months for attorney costs. Lake Washington High School held food fairs and put on a "Zimbabwe Night" featuring the Siddicks as guest speakers. Students organized a letter-writing campaign asking the immigration judge to grant asylum to the Siddicks. Donation envelopes were placed in classrooms so students could give their spare change, and parents and local businesses were also asked to contribute.
"You look at all the problems in this world, and how huge and overwhelming they are, and you feel you can't do anything about it," said Abby Higgins, 17, a senior at Lake Washington who helped organize the fundraisers at the school. "But with the Siddicks, we have an opportunity to make an impact."
In the process, the school also raised awareness about conditions in Zimbabwe, a country in the midst of turmoil. Its government is headed by President Robert Mugabe, an authoritarian ruler who was not elected freely by the country's people, according to the State Department's 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, released March 8. The long list of human-rights violations includes politically motivated killings and kidnappings, torture, rape and abuse of people perceived to be opposition supporters, widespread government corruption and arbitrary arrest and detention.
Both Ayoob and Amida were members of the Movement for Democratic Change, the opposition party to Mugabe's ruling party.
advertising
"My biggest fear is for my children. If we're taken away, we may be going back to torture, corruption," Ayoob said. "I don't think any parent would want to be in my position right now."
The department can't comment on specific cases, said Sharon Rummery, spokeswoman for the USCIS Western Region.
"If an officer doesn't grant asylum, you have the right to take your case before an immigration judge," Rummery said. "Asylum is a very compassionate exercise of the law, and many people have been saved through refuge and asylum."
Dubious advice
Ayoob and Amida met their first immigration lawyer in Zimbabwe when they attended a seminar about how to migrate to another country. The New York-based attorney told them their best bet was to apply for a visa that would allow Ayoob to establish a business in the United States.
After they arrived in Kirkland, the family watched their nest egg disappear as they waited nearly a year for their attorney to file the proper paperwork to allow them to start a business.
As conditions in Zimbabwe continued to worsen, the family asked the attorney if they should apply for asylum and were told not to, that they could apply later if need be. They later found that the law requires that immigrants apply for asylum within one year of arriving in the U.S.
"If the Siddicks had known that, they almost certainly would have filed that application, and almost certainly would have been approved," said Robert Pauw, the Siddicks' current immigration attorney.
The family nevertheless applied for asylum several years ago, which allows them to work while the application is being processed. The application was denied by an officer with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The family appealed to an immigration judge, who will hear the case Thursday.
According to USCIS' latest statistics, it granted 14,359 people asylum in 2004, 243 of whom were from Zimbabwe.
Under U.S. law, asylum applicants have to show they can't go home because they face persecution for their religion, race, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.
Pauw said he believes the Siddicks have a well-founded fear of persecution if they return to Zimbabwe, and he is hoping the judge will allow an exception to the one-year rule.
Kirkland feels like home
The family says that America, and the community of Kirkland, is now the only home they have. Three of their children have graduated from Lake Washington High School, the last being their son, Mason, who now attends Carroll College in Montana on a football scholarship. The youngest son, Rashaad, 13, attends Rose Hill Junior High. Their daughter, Salma, 22, attends Roosevelt University in Chicago, where she received an academic scholarship. Daughter Maleeka, 20, is studying radiation therapy at Bellevue Community College.
"We've always been an ambitious family," said Ayoob, an engineer who ran a mechanical-engineering and steel-fabrication business in Zimbabwe. "Our prime motive was our kids. We felt the best things to do for our kids is to arm them with an education."
Since they have come to the United States, Ayoob said, they have learned valuable lessons about the goodness of people, and how to keep a sense of humor through difficult times.
"We've learned patience. We've learned to be humble. And I've learned I've inherited high blood pressure," he said, laughing.
The Siddicks aren't sure when the decision will be made. If the judge denies their request, they will appeal.
Ayoob's parents still live in Zimbabwe, and tell him conditions continue to decline. People carry guns everywhere, they say. They are afraid to stop at traffic intersections. Homes are covered in security bars.
"I'm hoping I can one day sponsor them here," Ayoob said.
Rachel Tuinstra: 206-515-5637 or rtuinstra@seattletimes.com
Information about asylum law was provided by The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company