Antranik Tavitian (University of Missouri)
Insha’ Allah
Iraqi militia murdered Mohammed Al Hraishawi’s work driver. His address was known and his wife and nine children ranging from a couple months old to 15-years old were in danger. On December 13, 2017, they packed their bags and left the rough two-million person populated southern Iraq port city of Basra to the 130,000 midwestern city of Columbia, Missouri. The family received aid from local immigrant aid groups for the first year of their relocation, but after two years in the US, Mohammed is having trouble financially supporting his family. Zaynab, his wife, doesn’t speak English well enough to work and has to look over the toddlers, cook and clean the two apartments they rent from public housing. In Iraq, he worked as a supervising electrical power engineer for the US Army Corps of Engineers. The master’s degree he got in Iraq doesn’t translate to US work qualifications which leaves him unable to fully support his large family. He compensates by traveling to and from Iraq for months on end to make enough money. While Mohammed is away, his three oldest children, Narjes, Hussein, and Abbas, are left with the duty of acting as parental figures for their siblings and help navigate the problems their family faces while trying to grow up as teenagers in an area they weren’t born into. “It's hard to take this decision," said Mohammed. "Of course, it's hard for me to be away from my family."
Story: Insha’ Allah
Untitled
Narjes Al Hraishawi, 14, ties her younger sister’s, Fatima’s, hair Asinat, right, 2, tries to grab her headband from her older brother, Ali, 12. Abbas, left, 17, watches Youtube videos before driving two of the children to a carnival on Friday, August 23, 2019, in Columbia, Mo. The family’s children range from their 17-year-old boy to their year and a half old daughter.
Story: Insha’ Allah
Untitled
Photos of all nine of the Al Hraishawi children are taped to the wall of Hussein’s room on September 7, 2019, in Columbia, Mo. The entire family was born in Iraq, but some of the older children spent their whole childhood there.
Story: Insha’ Allah
Untitled
Abbas plays with his youngest brother, Baqer, 4, on Thursday, August, 29, 2019, outside their home in Columbia, Mo. While their father is away for most of the year, Abbas takes over as the father figure of the family. “He’s my favorite because we’re so alike,” Abbas said, referring to his younger brother.
Story: Insha’ Allah
Untitled
Zaynab Al Hraishawi speaks to her husband, Mohammed who's currently working in Iraq, about a possible eviction from their apartment, while Abbas, left, asks his mom to speak to his father to ask for permission to get money to watch a movie with his siblings on Wednesday, August 7, 2019. "You have to pay for the rent, for the school, and for the kids fun," said their father, Mohammed.
Story: Insha’ Allah
Untitled
Narjes, Abbas, Ali, and Fatima walk out after watching “Hobbs & Shaw”, an action-comedy movie on Wednesday, August 7, 2019, at Forum 8 theaters in Columbia, Mo.
Story: Insha’ Allah
Untitled
The Al Hraishawi family and Toni, a family friend and translator, break fast on the last day of Ramadan on Monday, June 3, 2019, at the family’s home in Columbia, Mo. It was one of the last nights that their father was there before he left again to work in Iraq.
Story: Insha’ Allah
Untitled
Asinat, 2, looks out the family’s living room window towards downtown Columbia, Mo. The youngest children constantly want to play outside, but their older siblings fear for their safety and their mother is usually taking care of the other kids, preparing food or taking care of other house tasks.
Story: Insha’ Allah
Untitled
An Iraqi proverb about overcoming the adversities of life marks the room of Hussein Al Hraishawi on September 7, 2019, in Columbia, Mo. He wants to write all over the walls, but public housing inspectors come by the house a couple of times a month so instead, he erases old ones and writes new ones.
Story: Insha’ Allah
Untitled
Narjes, 14, center, pays for the families groceries with money she got from her mother. Their mother doesn’t speak English on a level high enough to get groceries on her own so she often relies on her oldest children to do everyday tasks that involve going into the surrounding community.
Story: Insha’ Allah
Untitled
Al Hasan, Abbas, and Fatima ride the carousel at the Wade Show Carnival on Friday, August 23, 2019, at the Columbia Mall in Columbia, Mo. It was the siblings’ first time going to a carnival in the US.
Story: Insha’ Allah
Untitled
Mohamed Al Hraishawi, the families father, returns home from being away for four months in Iraq on Saturday, September 7, 2019 in Columbia, Mo.
Story: Insha’ Allah
Untitled
Mohammed Al Hraishawi caresses his son as he falls asleep the night that his father returned home after nearly four months of being away for work in Iraq on Saturday, September 7, 2019 in Columbia, Mo. Mohammed plans to stay in the US for the next couple of months to assure their housing status and gain a better hold for how their future will be before he leaves again for Iraq.