Tully: A family’s journey from Syria to Indiana

Indiana’s newest residents arrived Friday morning on a flight from New York, the final leg of a journey that began at an airport in Jordan roughly 36 hours earlier. But it was a journey that truly began more than three years ago — when they fled their devastated home country of Syria.

The mother, father and four children looked like any other family returning from vacation. One daughter wore a blue vest with a Minnie Mouse patch on it. Another, just 3 years old, carried a furry backpack that looked like a yellow duck. She buried her head on her father’s shoulder.

But their journey has been unlike anything most of us can imagine. That became clear a few minutes later, as workers from Exodus Refugee Immigration told the family about the south-side apartment they would soon call home. Mohammed Hayan Masharqa, seated among his wife and children, politely asked a translator if there would be “lots of bugs and broken windows” and other problems that could harm his children.

“It will be nice and clean,” he was assured, but the question was a telling reminder of what many seeking a new home in America have endured.

“War. Fighting. Scary,” Masharqa told me through the translator when I asked about Syria. “It’s not safe to live there at all. Anywhere. It’s very dangerous.”

The family members are among the millions who have fled Syria in recent years, as violence and terrorism have crushed the country. They found safety after arriving in the nation of Jordan, but there was little opportunity to work or to secure a solid education for their children. And so, they applied for refugee status in the United States. On Friday, as his children nibbled on snacks and laughed with each other, Masharqa said his goals going forward are simple.

“I want a future for all my children and jobs for us,” he said, looking at his wife. “I want what a father wants for his children: for them to be safe and educated. I hope they can become doctors.”

The family’s arrival comes during an angry political season marked by a tumultuous debate over immigration. It also comes just months after a federal judge issued an injunction against Gov. Mike Pence’s attempt to block the settlement of new Syrian refugees in Indiana. Pence, along with 30 other governors, pointed to security concerns as he attempted to block federal money from being passed along to organizations that help Syrian refugees settle in the state.

Exodus is one of those groups and has worked to make sure the family that arrived Friday would have a place to live and other help in their new country. The group set up an apartment for the family, looking for one close to grocery stores and schools the children soon will attend. Almost immediately, staffers met with the family to walk them through the basics of living in America — everything from making sure they understand how to use the apartment’s stove and laundry appliances to how to sign up for school, applying for refugee assistance benefits, making appointments with doctors, attending English classes and finding a job.

“They’re often confused about American life and you have to help ease them into it,” said Aziz Osman, an Exodus case manager who also served as Friday’s translator. “They are always eager to get a job and start working so we have to help them prepare for that.”

Cole Varga, executive director at Exodus, said religious leaders and groups of many faiths have stepped up to help Syrian refugees who have settled in Indianapolis. Despite so much anti-immigration noise, he said, “It’s been great to have so many people in Indianapolis who want to welcome these families, and not tear them down.”

On Friday, U.S. Rep. Andre Carson met the family at the airport, hugging Masharqa repeatedly and bringing a few tears to the father’s eyes. “Peace be with you,” Carson, an Indianapolis Democrat, said, as Exodus workers prepared to hand gifts and toys to the family.

“I’ve never had a reception like this,” Masharqa said.

Carson, a Muslim who has been fiercely critical of anti-Islamic and anti-immigration rhetoric and proposals, said he wanted his presence to send a welcoming message.

“There’s a lot of rhetoric out there that is very divisive,” he said. “I just want families like this one to see us embracing them. I want them to understand that this is a country built on the backs of immigrants and we welcome them to this country.”

After Pence’s 2015 action, which Judge Tanya Walton Pratt labeled “national origin discrimination,” one Syrian family that had planned to move to Indiana was instead taken to Connecticut. Many others, though, have quietly landed in Indiana; Varga said the six family members who arrived Friday are among 83 Syrian refugees who have been resettled in Indianapolis since Oct. 1, including some with help from the Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

Pence took his action in the wake of a deadly terrorist attack in Paris last year, amid suggestions that one of the terrorists had posed as a refugee. He said his goal was to “ensure the safety and security of all Hoosiers” and called for greater assurances about the federal screening process. Varga pointed to the extensive screening process refugees undergo, one that involves steps such as biometric screening, iris scans, in-person interviews, medical checks and work involving the FBI, Homeland Security and counter-terrorism agencies.

“You’ve probably heard this before,” he said. “But it’s the most rigorous screening process of any traveler coming to the United States.”

That won’t be enough for many. This family’s arrival in America will surely anger some and too many politicians will continue to exploit that anger. But on Friday, four children and their parents prepared for the possibility of a safe and healthy life after years of danger and uncertainty. They prepared to begin a new life in America.

At one point, as I stood next to Michael Medvescek, senior director of operations and public safety at the airport, the family’s young children smiled and soaked in the new world around them.

“This is what it’s all about,” Medvescek said.

Those words were a fitting end to a beautiful morning.

You can reach me at matthew.tully@indystar.com or on Twitter: @matthewltully.