StoryCorps 493: Being Human, There or Here
[MUSIC Blue Dot Sessions “Lacquer Groove”]
Michael Garofalo (MG): It’s hard for him to imagine now, but when Philip, an Iraqi interpreter who served with the U.S. Army, first took that job, he really didn’t consider how dangerous it would be.
Philip (P): Seriously, I don’t understand the risk. I was like, it’s just a job, you know what I mean?
MG: That was more than ten years ago. And in this episode, we’re going to follow Philip’s story. We’ll hear about his time with the military.
P: You told me, if you try to mess with my soldiers, I will shoot you.
Paul Braun (PB): And what did you do?
P: I was smiling at you [Laughter]
PB: You smiled at me and said, ’Someday, we will be able to laugh about this conversation while we’re drinking tea.’
MG: And his attempts to reunite his family after immigrating to the US.
P: You know, I still remember the date and the time when the embassy emailed me saying, ’Congratulations, we have the visa.’
MG: I’m Michael Garofalo. This is the StoryCorps podcast from NPR. Stay with us.
[MUSIC OUT]
[PROMO]
MG: Welcome back. If you’ve been following the news over the past week or so, you’ve no doubt heard about the new administration’s controversial travel ban from seven countries, one of them Iraq. Initially, this included interpreters who had worked with the U.S. Armed Forces and their families, though that was changed late last week.
[MUSIC Blue Dot Sessions “In the Backroom”]
This got us thinking about a StoryCorps participant named Philip — it’s actually a nickname that American troops gave him because of his taste for Philip Morris cigarettes. He worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army and we’re devoting this whole episode to his story. We’ll hear two traditional StoryCorps interviews that he recorded with us and a phone call that I recently had with him to kind of fill in some blanks.
For one, I was curious how he ended up working as an interpreter. How does someone decide to take on a job that will put their life in constant danger?
[PHONE CALL]
P: It’s accidentaly. [laughs] I didn’t plan to get involved with the U.S. Army.
MG: Here’s what happened: in 2005, Philip’s family fell on hard times, financially. They lost the family business, and he couldn’t make ends meet. He has a wife and four kids, and he needed a job that paid well. Philip spoke some English, so he went to talk to a friend of his who worked for a private security contractor.
P: So, one of my friends, his name’s Sam. We call him Sam Six Fingers…
MG: Why do you call him that?
PM: Because he has six fingers.
MG: [Laughs] Like, he has an extra finger or he only has six fingers?
PM: No, he has like, actually, in each hand, he has six fingers. [Laughs] So he recommend me to his supervisor and I went to do my interview. He asked me are you worried about how the people going to see you blah blah blah, you know, all this thing. I told him no I don’t have, like, any fear because that time I, seriously, I don’t understand the dangers or the risk. I was like, it’s just a job, you know what I mean?
[MUSIC A Ninja Slob Drew Me “Surface Tension”]
MG: Philip got the job. And while he was working there he met a lot of U.S. military personnel, and ultimately that would lead to his position as an Army interpreter.
Then, in 2009, Philip got an assignment that would change the direction of the rest of his life. He was attached to a military police company, part of the Minnesota National Guard. And he met and befriended a Sergeant named Paul Braun. And Paul is the person who would ultimately sponsor Philip’s immigration to the U.S. in 2013.
We’re going to hear a conversation between them now. It was recorded shortly after Philip arrived in Minnesota. And at the time they spoke, he was living with Paul.
PB: Do you remember the first day that we met?
P: Oh you scared me, dude. Your attitude in the beginning and with your mohawk…
PB: I scared everybody with that mohawk.
P: You told me, if you try to mess with my soldiers, I will shoot you.
PB: And what did you do?
P: I was smiling at you [Laughter]
PB: You smiled at me and said, “Some day, we will be able to laugh about this conversation while we’re drinking tea.” And that’s when I knew, I think this guy’ll be ok. We started to trust you and since you fought with us and you bled with us and you lived with us, you became us. And my Iraqi interpreter became my American brother.
P: And my American soldier became my Iraqi brother.
I used to hate Americans. You are our enemy, and that’s it. And you’re the only one who changed my mind. With you, I was talking about the similarity between us as people. It’s just about being human there or here.
PB: I remember sitting down one day thinking, I didn’t want to leave you alone. I knew how dangerous it was for you because we saw all those people that were murdered for being interpreters, and I was so afraid that that was going to happen to you. And it took years to get the proper documents to get you over here.
P: And I’m lucky to make it here.
PB: You have three daughters, and a son, and a wife.
P: Yeah.
PB: I’m waiting for that day that you are able to bring them over here.
How do you feel about having to go back to get your family?
P: I’m scared, actually, because of ISIS. They control the roads and it’s dangerous.
PB: I hate to ask you: what do you think your odds of being able to make it back alive are?
P: Let’s make it 50/50, man. Like, really, 50/50.
PB: It’s frustrating hearing you talk about the dangers that you’re going to go through over there and not being able to go with you to help you. As you helped me, I wanted to be able to help you back.
P: I appreciate you to saying that, but really, you can’t. Just pray for me, that’s it. I love you brother.
PB: I love you too, brother. Inta akhoy. [Arabic for “You’re my brother”].
P: Habibi [Arabic for “my beloved”].
[MUSIC Alan Singley “Force Lights”]
MG: Not long after recording this interview, Philip boarded a plane back to Iraq. But he wasn’t able to get his family’s visa’s approved and had to return to Minnesota alone.
[MUSIC]
The next few years were lonely ones for Philip. On the phone, he told me that took as much work as he could get, eventually becoming a Certified Nurse Assistant working with the elderly in assisted living facilities. And that’s a role that his outgoing personality was perfectly suited for.
Paul told us that Philip is so beloved by the residents and their families, that they often ask for him to be present during a resident’s last moments.
[PHONE CALL]
MG: What makes you good at your job, do you think?
P: I don’t know. Just be myself, that’s it. I love elderly. And to me, personally, elderly is just cool. Like if you talk with 85 years old, he will give you all of your experience in one minute, you know what I mean?
MG: There’s so much wisdom, right?
P: Oh yeah, oh yeah. And it’s not boring. Even the bad days to me when I compare it for the bad days back at home, bad days here is like easy peasy. It’s like a piece of cake.
MG: Of course, what wasn’t easy was the separation from his family. When he wasn’t working, Philip was often skyping with them, trying to keep their hopes up that one day they would be able to join him in Minnesota.
He told me that the visa application looks so easy, but the process is long and complicated. And things can get in the way that you can’t really plan for. He explained that, in Iraq, if you’re from one village and someone from another village or another group, a group that maybe your group doesn’t get along with, if that person is in charge of processing your paperwork, who knows how long it might get delayed.
[MUSIC Alan Singley “Stop the Clocks”]
But, finally, after three years of trying, his family’s visas came through.
[PHONE CALL]
P: Hold on this is my little girl… [sound of little girl laughing] [Philip laughs, then in Arabic] this is my daughter… close the door…it’s cold… my love, I’m talking on the phone. [door closes]
OK?
MG: OK.
[MUSIC]
MG: In October 2016, Philip’s wife, four kids, and his nephew, who was also an interpreter, arrived at the Minneapolis airport. Shortly afterward, Philip sat down with his nephew, who goes by Andy due to his resemblance to the actor Andy Garcia, for this StoryCorps conversation.
(P): You know, I still remember the date and the time when the embassy emailed me saying, ’Congratulations, your family can come any minute now. We have the visa.’ I was like, shocked.
Andy (A): What were your feeling when you first saw me in the airport?
P: Oh my God, I was like, all of a sudden I start clapping and jumping, saying ‘ahlan wa-sahlan’ — ‘welcome, I’m so happy to see you.’
A: You’ve been here for three years. What was the hardest thing to adjust to in the U.S.?
P: As immigrant who come from completely different culture, you’ll see the people here, like, most of them are nicely, friendly and they respect your religion, your background.
A: Mhmm.
P: But, you know, I work as a caregiver in a senior home. So one day, one of my residents he start calling me racist names. But we start talking and one year later he said, ‘I’m sorry. Philip, you changed my mind.’
A: What do you hope for you and your family in the future?
P: You know, when I remember my last couple years, like working by myself here — I used to work like four different jobs — and at the end of the day, go home, there is no one waiting for you.
A: Yeah.
P: That’s hard feeling.
A: Yup.
P: So from being alone to a whole family with my best friend and nephew with me.
P: What do I need more…
A: Yeah…
P: That’s it.
[MUSIC Blue Dot Sessions “The Spills”]
MG: Philip’s kids are all in school now, and learning English with Andy as their tutor. Philip says the hardest thing for them to adjust to is winter in Minnesota.
[MUSIC]
As he talked about, for the most part, Philip and his family have felt welcomed in the U.S. And for Philip — like many of the veterans he served with — it’s the little things that have made a difference.
[PHONE CALL]
P: Somebody saying thank you, that mean a lot.
Here in Minnesota, it’s like, every time I meet new people, even they don’t know who I am — just an immigrant, can’t speak English very well; his English is broken; his attitude is weird; his skin color is not familiar for me. But when we talk and they find out I work with U.S. Army, they appreciate that. That make you feel good. There is, like, some people realize what is going on.
[MUSIC]
MG: I spoke to Philip in the midst of the controversy about the travel ban, and given the current mood about immigration in much of the country, I was kind of surprised at how positive he was. I guess it’s a matter of perspective. When the past ten years of your life have looked like Philip’s have, you maybe see things that the rest of us take for granted.
[PHONE CALL]
MG: What is the best thing about your life now that your family is here?
P: Honestly, man, safety.
MG: Safety?
P: Yeah. First of all, I don’t need to have a weapon in my home. OK? I don’t have to worry about any terrorist attack. The biggest worry I have here is from the car accident which happen everywhere. Man, safety it’s big, big deal because if you feel safe, you will build; you will go forward; you will raise your life. But if you are insecure you can’t do anything. You will spend your life worry all the time. Freedom and safety. If you are free and safe, you will be able to do everything good in this life.
[MUSIC Alialujah Choir “Little Picture Instrumental”]
That’s it for this episode. Special thanks to Andrés Cabellero who first brought Philip and Paul to StoryCorps and helped us with the second interview with Andy. He’s working on a film about Philip called The Interpreter. You can check out the trailer on our website, StoryCorps.org.
Andres co-produced these stories with Liyna Anwar and me. The podcast is produced by me and Elisheba Ittoop. Rate or review us on iTunes. And if you want to leave a message for Philip, or anyone else you hear on the show, give us a call at (301) 744-TALK, that’s 301 744 T-A-L-K.
Until next time, I’m Michael Garofalo and this has been the StoryCorps podcast. Thanks for listening.
[MUSIC OUT]