Refugees mourn their father figure

SOUTH JORDAN - He wasn't the oldest, but 16-year-old Mowlid Ali was the father figure of his large family of Somali refugees.

 

He translated for his mother, watched his six younger siblings, and was about to begin working as a janitor at an elementary school in order to pay rent.

 

Abdinajib Jama, 20, and his mother, Sadio Hassan, talk as... (Steve Griffin/The Salt Lake Tribune )

Sadio Hassan said her son's "easy smile" was helping to ease his family's struggle through financial burdens, heath problems and language barriers that came with their move to the U.S. two years ago. But over the past three days, brother Jamal Jama has been working to fill Mowlid's place.

 

Mowlid died Monday night after his car plunged 60 feet off a road near the Snowbird Ski Resort's No. 3 entry around 9500 E. 9800 South. His family believes Mowlid, who police say had less than three months of driving experience, accidentally turned east on the highway instead of heading home after his 7 p.m. prayers in a downtown Salt Lake City mosque.

 

Hassan, 38, said her son called her from the side of the road on top of the canyon after running out of gas. Hassan said she heard honking in the background. Mowlid told his mother a car was driving toward him who might be able to help him, so he hung up. When his mother called back, he didn't answer.

 

Mowlid Ali, 16, was killed when his car plunged off a... (Steve Griffin/The Salt Lake Tribune )

Police found Mowlid's body in the wreckage of his family's car at around 11 p.m. There were no witnesses  and the cause of the crash is unknown, though there are clear tire marks in the dirt that indicate the car slid off  the road and over the cliff, said Salt Lake County sheriff's spokesman Paul Jaroscak.

 

The loss is the latest in a string of hardships that began with a dream of a new life.

 

The family escaped from war-torn Somalia, to a refugee camp in the northeast border of Kenya. In the camp, 11 members of the family lived in plastic tarps for two years, surviving on wheat, rice and flour.

But that wasn't the last time the family would experience hunger.

 

When they first came to Utah, they were placed in a motel through a local refugee agency. They didn't know English, so they waited for someone from the agency to guide them. They waited for seven days without food.

Mowlid's brother, Abdinajib Jama, 20, called 911.

 

"We lived in a refugee camp for seven years, but the first time we actually experienced hunger was when we came to the U.S.," Abdinajib Jama said.

 

A distraught Sadio Hassan in her home in South Jordan. (Steve Griffin/The Salt Lake Tribune )

The family is now facing financial and medical problems. Hassan was diagnosed with throat cancer, but has postponed surgery for a year because she fears she might not come back home.

 

"She worries about what will happen to the family if something happens to her," said Donna Coulson, a family friend. "Putting surgery off is her way of saying 'I will be here for my family.' "

 

Hassan was scheduled to be admitted into the hospital for surgery on Wednesday, but she buried her son instead. The family still needs $800 to pay for funeral costs.

 

The children old enough to have jobs help pay rent and other costs by working for minimum wage. This leaves little money or time for extracurricular activities, said Abdinajib Jama.

 

"Everything is money here," he said. "Everything is about getting a job." Hassan said she desperately needs her husband, who remains in Somalia. But it could take years to get the refugee status he needs to gain sponsorship to the U.S. In the meantime, the family relies on help from friends and extended family members. Mowlid's aunt and cousin, who are Somali refugees living in Ohio, are staying with the family for several days. Friends of the family have reached out as well, offering rides, food and support.

 

Mohammad Khan, one of Mowlid's best friends, was with him before his death. "He was a quiet and fun kid," he said. "We were bowling in sports class that morning and then playing basketball that day. It's weird to think that we were doing that and that now he's not here."  

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Source: The Salt Lake Tribune, May 10, 2008