They’re not just statistics, numbers in a category, nameless faces that flash on the screen during the network news. “They have the same hopes and dreams that any of us do,” says Robert Evans, a caseworker with the U.S. Committee for Refugee and Immigrants. As refugees escape from wars and terrorists in parts of the […]
They’re not just statistics, numbers in a category, nameless faces that flash on the screen during the network news.
“They have the same hopes and dreams that any of us do,” says Robert Evans, a caseworker with the U.S. Committee for Refugee and Immigrants.
As refugees escape from wars and terrorists in parts of the Middle East, a new documentary, Welcome to North Carolina, produced by WRAL, Capitol Broadcasting’s NBC affiliate in Raleigh, N.C., follows one family from their arrival at the airport.
How did they get here? What happens to them once they arrive? How can we be sure they are not terrorists?
Welcome to North Carolina follows Hussein Al Kafaji, his wife Ohood, and their daughters Zahraa and Daniah.
Hussein and Ohood were college-educated professionals in Baghdad, but start with nothing in North Carolina, according to a statement from the station.
“What I saw in my life, I don’t want my kids to see. I want a better life for my kids. That’s why I decided to leave Iraq,” says Hussein.
“I heard America is pretty much the best country I can get to. I heard it was a country of freedom, so that’s why I decided to come here.”
Welcome to North Carolina airs tomorrow night at 7 on both WRAL and WILM, Capitol’s CBS affiliate in Wilmington, N.C. The documentary will also be available for viewing on WRAL’s website any time after the television broadcast.
WRAL Documentary is one of the only dedicated documentary units in local TV. Its mission is to provide in-depth coverage of topics and issues relevant to North Carolinians.
To read and watch a documentary by Penn State journalism students from the beaches in Lesbos, Greece, click here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoT5pMziROQ&feature=youtu.be
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