Syrian Refugee Family's American Dream: Hope and Hardship in the Face of Funding Freeze

Syrian Refugee Family Finds Hope Amidst Hardship in Maryland A Syrian family's journey to resettlement in the United States took an unexpected turn when a funding freeze threatened their stability. Mohammad Saaid Abdalnabi, his wife, and their five-year-old daughter arrived in Maryland last October after years in Egypt, carrying only hope and the dream of starting over. "We were honestly upset that, unfortunately, the funding stopped," said Abdalnabi. The funding freeze, implemented by the Trump administration, left many newly arrived refugee families in sudden hardship. Many faced eviction. However, the non-profit organization Homes Not Borders stepped in to fill the gap, providing the Abdalnabi family with an apartment and covering three months of rent. Laura Thompson Osuri, executive director of Homes Not Borders, explained, "With a kind of closure of the refugee program, we've been able to pivot pretty quickly. We raised a lot of money from our individual donors to help with rental assistance because a lot of the newly arrived refugees were not getting their rents paid because the resettlement agencies weren't getting the money from the federal government." Despite the initial challenges, Abdalnabi found work at a slaughterhouse and expresses gratitude for the support received. His dream is to become a chef and build a stable life in the United States. The story of the Abdalnabi family highlights both the resilience of refugees and the crucial role of non-profit organizations in providing vital assistance during times of crisis.