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Obscured American: Melissa the Iraqi Refugee

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Linh Dinh
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The mosque. Saudi Araby, the people when they study here, in America, so they have a mosque. Some people, like, students, Maghreb, like, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Araby students. The people, they're nice people. They help.

I go to the mosque three times, on the holidays.

So I have to bring something to my children. You know, they want something different. They tell me, "I can't eat that food." It's difficult, because it was other culture, so my kids, "Oh mom, I can't smell that. I can't smell that food. I can't." I tell them, "You have to eat it. No choice. You have to eat it," then one day, two days, they like it. They eat it.

My daughter, this week, she's not coming home. Four days. Last week, I call the police. I lose the girl. You know, when I told the police, "My daughter, she's not coming home, three days." I told them, "I don't know where she is."

She smoke. Weed.

She beautiful, taller than me, beautiful girl.

Yo, man, she's a smart girl. She smart. When I leave the house, she behind me, but she not coming.

My son, the big one, he told me, "Mom, I put Mina in the basement." I say, "No, you don't want trouble, baby. You get in trouble, for what?"

She not call me. I cut her phone, you know. I cut the line, last week. I told the police, "I cut her line, to stay home, but she never stay home."

I'm just thinking, "If I cut the phone, she stay home. She can't connect with anyone. She just stay home, and watch her homework," but she outside for four days. She don't ask about me. Before, she call me, "Mom, I miss you." I told her, "You miss me. Come home."

My son, he good boy. I say, "Your brother is your brother. He can't take your blood. No. Even if he scare you, or something, it's for a reason, right?"

The Arab people different from other people. Like, they accept the girl outside anyway, but she have to respect the house, respect the mama, respect the dad. That's it.

I know what's going on here. She stay with her friend. She take her around, around, around. They smoke weed. When she finish with that, she come back to the house.

The Jordan girl buy. My daughter just smoke. Sometime, my daughter stay with the Spanish girl.

I don't know what she want, man. I don't understand her. Everybody home. All my kids home. Why she always outside?

Sometime, she go to school. She come home after 12 O'clock. She don't find nobody open the door. I give her the key. She lost it. She sleep outside.

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Linh Dinh's Postcards from the End of America has just been published by Seven Stories Press. Tracking our deteriorating socialscape, he maintains a photo blog.


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