If you read one thing today, read this
When I’m traveling, it’s easy to get caught up in little annoyances like a broken camera or a missed train. But then I have an experience like this, and all of that suddenly seems a lot less important.
I met Kader Belmouaz at the Hotel Concorde in Nimes. His story is one of the most heartbreaking things I have ever heard.
He is originally from Algeria and emigrated to America (legally, he says - apparently he has extensive documentation for all of what you’re about to hear) in the early 1990s, leaving his wife and children behind while he sought to earn a living for his family. He settled in East Boston, teaching karate to kids in the neighborhood. Little by little, he made a life for himself and became a respected figure in the community.
Then came September 11 and its aftermath. Without any warning, Kader was arrested on account of his Arabic last name - he has no criminal record - and thrown into jail. He didn’t have time to pack a suitcase. He left with nothing more than the clothes he was wearing. Even now, he remembers how the local children cried when they took him away.
Seven months later, and without a trial, he was finally released from jail and immediately deported. He had nothing. His wife divorced him. He ended up in France, working odd jobs and wondering what had happened to him.
Kader told me that he wants nothing more than to return to America. He had a life there. But he doesn’t know what happened to his apartment. His stuff? Who knows. Because he wasn’t allowed to take anything with him when he was arrested, he doesn’t have any phone numbers, any emails, any pictures - nothing.
He has tried contacting immigration authorities in America. They won’t return his calls.
But, he says, despite what happened to him, he still has faith that he can return to the country he loves.
- - -
The thing is, I don’t think this story is over. I think we can help Kader.
Kader says that a first step in gaining a visa is having a sponsor; he can remember his best friends from home - his neighbors Ronnie and Lydia - but he doesn’t have any contact information for them, and he can’t remember their last name.
But he does remember his address: 210 Paris Street, Boston, MA, across from the Salesian Boys and Girls Club. Ronnie and Lydia lived a few doors down.
I wonder if they still live there. I wonder if one could find them and tell them about Kader’s situation. I wonder if he could start his visa process again, and eventually return to America.
You see, usually in this kind of horrible situation, there’s not much we can do to help. But in Kader’s case, I think that we can.
My first step is to publicize this story. I’m planning to pitch it to magazines once I get to Ireland in September.
But there’s something that can be done right now, by some adventurous person in Boston. Go to Kader’s old apartment. Ask around. Try to find Ronnie and Lydia. Who knows - maybe there can be a happy ending to this story after all.
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