15 Allexis Mahanna

Narrative Summary

Being born into a war-torn country and having to move away from all you’ve ever known is unimaginable to most. It has been the reality for Tartil Ali and her family. She has utilized hardships that she has gone through with her family to work towards a better life. She also has worked to advocate for fellow refugees while studying at the University of Iowa.

Tartil was born on February 17, 1998 in Sudan in a Catholic church. She grew up in Sudan but doesn’t remember all too much from her early childhood. She does remember walking to class with her childhood best friend. As they walked from their street to the school over a couple of blocks, they would often jump through puddles. She remembers this almost as intensely as her walks home from the school. When she would walk home, a dog would often chase her. She was terrified of dogs for most of her adolescent life due to this repeated occurrence. She mentions how this dog probably just wanted to play with her, but she did notwant to play with it, hence her intense fear of the dog chasing her.

When Tartil was four years old, her family left Sudan as refugees. They could have stayed in Sudan, but the war going on made life too unstable. There was always a chance that they would be arrested by the army, without cause. Even without this constant threat, it was becoming harder to survive and thrive due to limited money and food, with the continuous threat of poverty looming. Tartil’s family applied, and were accepted, to move to Cairo, Egypt to escape these threats. While some of their family stayed behind, Tartil’s parents always had a desire to work hard and provide her with better opportunities for success. Their end goal was to live in America, and to achieve the American dream. Hence, deciding to go to Cairo was an easier choice for them than for some of their extended family who didn’t want to leave their home country ever. Tartil doesn’t remember her parents ever explaining what was going on to her. All of a sudden, they were moving away from friends and family. While now she understands why they didn’t try and explain what was happening to a four-year-old, at the time it was very scary for her.

Cairo introduced some new challenges for Tartil and her family. When they arrived, they moved into an apartment building. She doesn’t remember when, but at some point, some extended family members joined her family in that apartment building. The educational system in Cairo had some problems. The milestones that this system set were far behind what was expected in other countries. Worse than this, both classmates and the teacher began to bully Tartil. The teacher at one point made a big show about how Tartil didn’t know how to put a straw in a juice box and embarrassed her in front of the class. When walking home, people would sometimes racially discriminate against Tartil, yelling out “chocolate” at her, which is a racially charged negative term in Egypt. Tartil didn’t think much of this. As a resilient child, she accepted things as they happened and didn’t focus on the negative. This was also her first experience with discrimination. While discrimination certainly happened in Sudan during (and even after) the war, it was usually tribe based, not race based. It additionally didn’t directly impact Tartil, as the neighborhood that she lived in in Sudan was very friendly without any of those hostilities present. During their time in Cairo, Tartil’s parents were planning on how to get to America. Without her knowledge, they entered a lottery-like process to be accepted to the United States. After two years in Cairo, they were chosen. Within a few days, they gave away most of their belongings and prepared to board a plane to the United States. Tartil doesn’t have too many memories from this time period. While packing up, she remembers having a raggedy doll that she loved, and in the taxi on the way to the airport, her dad gave it to the taxi driver for his daughter – which Tartil was quite upset about.

She additionally remembers one traumatic, movie-like, airport experience the day that her family left. Her aunt, whom she was closer to at that time than even her mother, wasn’t able to join Tartil’s family in their journey to America. Her aunt had to stay behind with her other extended family in Cairo. She only just arrived in the United States this year, after getting her paperwork approved. Tartil recalls being at the airport and being inside the gate while her aunt was on the outside. She realized her aunt wasn’t coming with their family and screamed and tried to run back to her. Her parents grabbed her, and wouldn’t let her run back to her aunt, no matter how much she fought against them. After they boarded the plane, her panic subsided some. She doesn’t recall if she had her own seat but does remember sitting on her mother’s lap. She recalls that this plane ride was the first time that she heard her dad speak English, which he become fluent in when attending private school in Sudan as a teenager.

When they arrived in the United States that October, they moved into an apartment near the airport in Des Moines. They moved there because some of her father’s family had already settled nearby, and they wanted to live near family. They were given blankets when they arrived, one of which Tartil has to this day, along with other furniture and resources from the Human Resources Department as well as some local churches. One thing that Tartil notes is that “some of the places where they put refugees are sketchy … where if someone is coming into a completely new environment you obviously would not want to put them there.” Workers helping refugees and immigrants to get situated should be more careful about this, since the norms in these neighborhoods might get picked up by the families, even if they are negative actions/behaviors and shouldn’t be seen as appropriate. Tartil’s family ended up moving from the Des Moines area to be in the Indian Hills school district. They did this because Tartil stopped showing as much of an interest in school, and they wanted to make sure she would keep this interest and be able to pursue higher education towards getting a better job. This focus on education was extremely important to Tartil’s family. Tartil has worked hard and now attends the University of Iowa, in order to fulfill her parents desire that she pursue opportunities that they didn’t have the chance to. She wishes that people would be more willing to hear stories from refugees and immigrants and give them a chance. “[People] are all equal and are all worthy of being here. They are hardworking and while they may have setbacks, they need to be given the opportunity and leverage to make up for that.”

Personal Reflection

Opening up to a new perspective is a wonderful hands-on way to gain knowledge. While attending classes and writing papers is necessary for education, local interactions are invaluable in the insights they provide and the communities they can help to facilitate. Being able to interview Tartil Ali, whom I have worked with in the Iowa Students for Refugees organization, was a tremendous opportunity. Despite our previous interactions, I didn’t know her full immigration story, and being able to hear about it gave me a broader understanding of who she was and what she valued. Throughout our interview, I learned about her journey of migration, as well as her take on how refugees and immigrants should be treated when they move to new locations.

Tartil’s childhood resilience stands out as one of the most significant insights from her interview. As a four-year-old, she wasn’t told that her family was moving until the day they left. She had no time to prepare, or deal with this move. She simply was moved to a new location and had to deal with it. She adjusted quickly, even to the bullying and racism that was thrown towards her. It didn’t bother her much, which is astounding. To imagine having to move to a new location without preparation, and then be bullied in that location, is quite frightening. The fact that Tartil was able to move past this, and still do well academically and socially shows the resilience of children, especially her as a child. Moving to America as a six-year-old and essentially having to start over again without much preparation showcases this same resiliency. Her ability to adapt to new cultures, languages, and situations was impressive to learn about. Understanding what someone else has gone through is always important. It reminds you of your privileges, and the need to never assume someone else’s background or experiences. This was significant to me, as I often think about privilege, but it can be easy to solely focus on people’s current situations, rather than considering their pasts as well.

The second fact that I found most interesting from the interview was the length of time that it took for Tartil’s aunt to join them in America. Being separated from family has long-term negative impacts. The fact it took Tartil’s aunt over 16 years to be approved to come to America was shocking to hear. Tartil had such a close relationship with this aunt, before leaving Cairo she considered her closer than her own mother. She was then not able to have an in-person relationship with her aunt for over 16 years. While it’s wonderful that her aunt is now here, and they can rekindle this relationship, the time lost is devastating. The policies that we put in to place to allow for/deny families to reconnect need to be scrutinized. I can’t imagine growing up away from family, and not being able to visit them for extended periods of time, which is why this fact was so striking for me to consider.

The placement of refugees in their resettlement cities was another significant topic that Tartil discussed in the interview. Her explanation of the placement of these refugees, often in sketchier parts of the city, was insightful. By placing newcomers in an area where crime occurs, we are putting them at a higher risk. This risk includes them being victimized, as well as them adopting similar criminal behaviors without realizing the significance of doing so. If parents are working long hours and aren’t able to closely monitor their children, it is easy for children to make poor decisions. When surrounded by criminal activity, it is even easier, and the repercussions are scary to consider. Evaluating the situations that we put refugees in to, from the moment that they arrive, it important when trying to better their adaption to new locations. By ensuring safe living environments, which will hopefully encourage more focus on community connections, refugees could have a much better adaption experience. Considering community planning, and the risks that our current practices create, is something that has always interested me. Hearing about this topic from Tartil’s perspective was thus very interesting and spurred follow up conversations on how policies could be enacted to better plan for refugee families.