A is a 20 year old Iraqi refugee currently living in New Cairo. He is legally in Egypt on an Investment Visa in connection with a company loosely related to the family. He has no true ties to the company, only to be able to live in Egypt. His father was murdered in Iraq. A is a survivor of torture and kidnap. He lives with his brother J. Thier mother lived in Egypt with them until Jan 09, when she travelled back to claim property rights to their stolen house and collect her dead husbands pension. She is currently still in Iraq. A's Aunt lives in London (since 1993) is paying for A and his brother's living expenses. Thier Aunt notified A that she will only be able to afford to help them until September of this year. A is in the process of applying for a Yellow card from UNHCR. He has already been denied once.
Y is A brother. He is 16 years old and attends the equivalent of 9th grade high school. Y was a few grades above this in Iraq, but was placed lower in Egypt due to his level in English. (Iraqis start learning English in 5th grade, whereas Egyptians learn from the start of formal education.) Y's writing abilities are very good, but struggles to understand spoken English. He is in the midst of studying for exams, and his attendance for tutoring may not be as reliable as his brother, A.
A and Y are very eager and excited to learn. We spent the first hour getting to know each other and what thier level of English was. The second hour was spent discussing how and when the next few meetings would be held.
No comments:
Post a Comment