Hussain Rachou is scared.
A Eugene resident for a year, he’s been safe since mid-2015 from the violence that has gripped his home country of Syria. But Rachou, a Kurdish Muslim, hasn’t seen his wife and two sons since the U.S. State Department approved his work visa and sent him to the United States 19 months ago.
His journey out of Syria took Rachou and his family to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, where his wife and sons are staying with friends.
Through his former employer, a multinational shipping company, Rachou was allowed into California, then moved to Las Vegas. When the company told Rachou that it wouldn’t renew his work visa, he sought and received asylum. He settled in Eugene, where he works as a welder.
Read more at The Register-Guard.