There's a small group of refugees who
have made it to the U.S. and are
rebuilding their lives in this corner of
Chicago. They are the Rohingya.
Their community has been fleeing genocide in
Myanmar for years, in a crisis that has
displaced close to a million people.
The Burmese government burn down my village,
my house. They're killing our villagers.
Abdul Samad is a 26-year-old Rohingya refugee
who calls West Rogers Park home,
after moving to Illinois in 2014. I'm not
a citizen of any country. [I’m] gonna be
[a first-time] citizen in [the] United States.
But what does the future look like for refugees like
him in President Trump's America? My name
is Abdul Samad. I work in a hotel [in]
downtown Chicago. When I [first arrived]
in the United States, in Chicago,
when I see these like huge buildings
and big city, I feel so happy.
I’m so excited. It’s a really beautiful city.
So I love Chicago.
[Music]
The Michigan Lake is frozen because of the
winter season. I want to be a
community leader for the Rohingya
people in Chicago. I want to
help my people here who [have arrived]
in Chicago. In his spare time Abdul Samad
volunteers at the Rohingya Cultural Center,
where he's a board member.
Opened in April 2016 with charity
funding, the center has become a
cornerstone of a new community with
growing needs. From translation and
gifting winter coats to English classes
and helping with paperwork, this center
is a lifeline for new refugees.
This is Rakhine state, this is Sittwe. I was born in Sittwe.
[The center] is a very important for us
because we can meet. You know,
everybody comes here,
it’s like a village. Also this is one
of the platforms for our people.
When I bring my wife here,
my son here, they see [what the]
Rohingya look like, what’s our culture.
How do we talk,
how do we eat?
Abdul Samad coaches the center's youth
soccer team on Saturdays. When I was in Burma,
I didn’t get this opportunity like here,
so I always wanted to play, like for the school,
for the university, for the state, but
we’re not allowed because I'm a Rohingya Muslim.
Today, we lost by 8-5.
But still, my players did good. Yea, it’s not bad.
This soccer team’s not only for fun,
but you know, I want to [teach them
teamwork], how [to be a] team player
and teach [them] unity.
I love soccer. Chicago has become a haven
to one of the largest Rohingya refugee
populations in the U.S. Around 1,500 have
resettled here. Chicago is like really, really
good for the Rohingya community
because we can help each other and we
can meet easily and we have so many
halal food markets here. And tucked among
the saree shops and curry houses in West
Devon Avenue, is the Shwe Myanmar
grocery store. It's where Abdul Samad
goes to buy some home comforts. This is,
you know, a special spice mix. So when we
call our Rohingya food, Burmese food, we
have to have this. This store is very
important for us, for our Rohingya refugee
family in Chicago. Because whatever we
need, whatever we want, the foods, everything
is in this store. So, you know, all time we
can meet each other in this store.
[Music]
This is West Devon, where I met
my wife [for the] first time. In this bus stop. I’m so
lucky, I saw her when she was waiting [at the]
bus stop. And then after one year, we
got married. Abdul Samad married his wife
in 2016.
she's also a Rohingya refugee. This is my
son, Abdul Azim. He was born in Chicago, he
is a one year old. And this is my wife,
Bibi Zainab. He was born in Chicago
but he's like Rohingya American. This is
coconut with sugar. When we make
this food here, I remember my village,
my mom, my family. I think I realized that
we have to keep our culture, we have to
keep our traditional foods, so this is
really important for us. I want to pass
on my generation [to] my son. So you do not
forget where you from, and then where
your parents are from. I was born in Burma, my father
was born in also Burma in Rakhine state,
Site, so [was] my grandfather, my
great-grandfather. In 2012, the Burmese
government burned down my village, my
house. They burned not only house, they
burned but not only village. They burned
everything - my dream. They burned my
education, they burned my future. I was a
university student. So the after that, I
[fled]. Abdul Samad took a 10-day boat
journey to Thailand, where he says he was
detained by Thailand border police for
20 days. He was then able to make it to
Malaysia with the help of smugglers. But
the journey was treacherous, crossing
mountains and jungle on foot.
I left from Burma, but my family is
still there. I still worry about my
people. I can't sleep sometimes [at] night
[from nightmares], because I saw so many
people get killed by the Burmese
government. I'm not a citizen of any
country. [I’m] gonna be [a first-time] citizen in [the United
States]. [That] we can meet again is my hope,
is my dream. Also, I hope I can meet
[my family] in Chicago. The number of
refugees entering the U.S. has dropped
dramatically under the Trump
administration. The yearly cap on
refugees fell 65% between 2016
and 2019. And those caps aren't always
met. In 2018 only half the 45,000
person cap was reached. And such
policies have hit refugee resettlement
agencies across the U.S. As the number of
refugees who can be resettled drops, so
does the amount of federal funding. In
Chicago, refugee agencies feel under
siege. We’re challenged. RefugeeOne has
lost over $1 million in funding
over the last year-and-a-half.
Melina Kano
is the Executive Director of RefugeeOne,
an organization that resettled 728 refugees
in 2017. It was their largest number ever.
But in 2018, they resettled just 175
refugees. 41 of them were Rohingya.
We are certainly seeing an effort to
dismantle the network of refugee
resettlement in the U.S. In the last two
years we have seen refugee agencies
shutting down, and this is sad to see
this because as a country we are losing
institutional knowledge. Refugees do not
choose to leave their homes, they are
forced out of their homes. And the worst
things that can happen to them is what's
going on right now.
Illinois is home to 200,000
refugees, and the state sets aside
$7 million to assist refugees and
immigrants. Due to closures, only five
organizations are left to help new
arrivals make Chicago their home.
Abdul Samad still dreams of the day
he will be reunited with his mother in the
States. As he builds his new life here,
the uncertainty for Rohingya refugees
in limbo weighs down on him. For this
family, calling somewhere home, while
continuing to pass on their Rohingya
tradition, is an act of survival.
This spot has become a favorite among Rohingya
in Chicago. And Abdul Samad hopes more
will join. We are here today at
the Tea Leaf Garden, a Rohingya restaurant
in Chicago by Devon. There is no
Burmese restaurant in Chicago. This is a
first. And there’s really good foods here.
All time my favorite dish is Nasi Goreng
fried rice. Once we come
together with family, with friends,
it's like really tasty foods here.
It’s our favorite foods. It’s our dishes here.
[Music]