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Who We Are
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Refugee Resettlement Success Stories
John Koroma and Abdulai Jalloh
| The civil war which engulfed Liberia in the late 1990s quickly spilled
into neighboring Sierra Leone, prompting great fear and consternation
among Sierra Leoneans here. Two, John Koroma and Abdulai Jalloh, on
learning their families had found the relative safety of refugee camps
in Guinea, found their way to Opening Doors’ predecessor, Sacramento
Refugee Ministry (SRM), and filed formal requests that their family
members be granted interviews for refugee status. John’s application was
initially denied because of his visa status; he had a spouse visa, but
applications were only being accepted from holders of refugee visas and
Permanent Resident visas. With the assistance of SRM staff and the
intervention of Rep. Robert Matsui’s office, John was awarded a
Permanent Resident visa, and promptly applied for his family. |
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Several years passed with no official word about either family.
Finally, in early 2006, some seven years later, Opening Doors (ODI)
received word that Abdulai’s family had been accepted into the US
Refugee Program and would be coming to the United States. On the eve of
their scheduled arrival, ODI was informed that they had been deleted
from the flight for medical reasons. On inquiry, staff learned that
rioting in the Guinea capital of Conakry had prevented them from getting
their final medical papers. With the prompt intervention of ODI staff,
the family was able to get their medical papers, and they arrived safely
in Sacramento on June 26, 2006, two weeks later.
Meanwhile, John’s family was having its own difficulties. After years
of waiting, they had been removed from the list of families eligible to
interview with the US Government. Once, when Abdulai and his family were
visiting the ODI office, an ODI staff member asked if he knew John and
would ask John to contact the office. After learning John’s story, staff
inquired and learned that John’s family had missed several scheduled
interviews. Further inquiries revealed that the family had never
received notices that interviews had been scheduled. Armed with this new
information, ODI staff and John successfully petitioned for a new
interview, which was granted, and this time, after almost nine years,
John’s daughter and son were awarded refugee status and arrived in
Sacramento on Sept. 27, 2007.
Because of the persistence and timely intervention of ODI staff, two
families separated for many years have been enabled to reunite and build
new lives in Sacramento.
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