Saturday February 4, 2017
Barkat Mohamed met his daughter Khabra for the first time on Friday at Louisville Airport | Photo by Joe Sonka
Barkat Mohamed, a refugee from Ethiopia who has lived in Louisville since 2013, had an emotional reunion with his family at the Louisville International Airport on Friday, meeting his 3-year-old daughter Khabra for the first time.
Khabra and her mother Zemzem are expected to be the last two refugees resettled in Louisville by Catholic Charities’ Migration and Refugee Services for at least the next four months due to the executive order President Donald Trump signed last week halting the government’s refugee program. The mother and daughter arrived in Houston Thursday night, two of several hundred refugees granted waivers to be admitted into the United States, despite being mid-journey when the order was signed.
When Barkat Mohamed came to Louisville as a refugee fleeing the Somali civil war, he had to leave behind his pregnant wife Zemzem, who would soon give birth to their daughter Khabra. Both were recently cleared to arrive as refugees, but Trump’s order led to a nerve-wracking week of uncertainty as to whether the reunion would be thwarted at the last minute.
Mohamed stood with a beaming smile at the arrival area of the airport Friday, surrounded by 50 friends and well-wishers — including Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of the Louisville Diocese — ready to greet his family.
“I’m feeling very excited, very happy… it’s hard to really describe my emotions,” Mohamed told IL. “I’ve never seen my child. Today is the first time I’m going to see her. I’m so very excited.”
Zemzem and Khabra then arrived to much applause and many tears from those gathered, as Mohamed embraced his wife and finally was able to hold and kiss his daughter.
Archbishop Kurtz called the reunion “a beautiful gift,” both for the family and the city.
“As I said to the family, Louisville is made stronger when families are welcomed and they bring their gifts to bear,” said Kurtz. “I’m very proud of the work that Catholic Charities has done in order to facilitate this and the support work that needs to be done. Not only are the families welcomed, but they’re helped at being integrated into the life of our society here.”
Both Catholic Charities and Kentucky Refugees Ministries help resettle hundreds of refugees every year and offer services to ease their transition, but now hundreds of families’ lifeline to America will have to be put on hold as the U.S. resettlement program grinds to a halt. Kurtz said it is a shame that such a reunion may not be witnessed for many months to come, and he said Catholic leadership is currently in discussions with the Trump administration on a solution.
“I know our bishops conference is in constructive dialogue with the president’s administration,” said Kurtz. “And of course we’re looking to find ways that safety can be maintained within our nation, but in a way that is very humane. We may be the best spokesmen in some ways to be able to show the good that has occurred that we don’t want to lose within our nation, of welcoming families – especially families who are suffering so much.”
Before his wife and daughter arrived, Mohamed said Trump’s order was “not good.”
“I think everybody here once came from immigrants,” said Mohamed. “Almost everyone believes the United States is a very great country, and we hope they keep doing what they’ve been doing for refugees.”
A video of the emotional reunion can be seen below: