Khaled Alkojak is one of the few Syrians to have made it to the U.S. since the start of the Syrian civil war. Even here, though, the 31-year-old remains in limbo, unsure of how long he'll be allowed to stay.
For now, Alkojak lives in Southern California. When he spoke with NPR's Arun Rath, Alkojak spoke of his life in Syria before the war.
"Nothing special," Alkojak says. "I'm just like any Syrian guy from Damascus. I work with my father; we have a family business."
He helped run his family's Internet cafe, at the same time attending school to study computers.
Then, in 2011, the Arab Spring came to Damascus. He says he supported the protests against the regime of President Bashar Assad — but he was reluctant to do so publicly.
"I want freedom to my country. I want to be open, like Europe, like United States, like any country." But, he says, there was "a lot of intelligence, police — where the government control everything. So I have to be extra careful. I was, let's say, support them from inside, but not doing anything. Because I'm scared."
As the uprising grew, another fear grew with it: Alkojak says he was also scared of getting drafted into Assad's army and being forced to fight the rebels.
"I don't accept to join any military," he says. "I don't accept to kill someone. That I believe, so I find the best thing to do is to leave the country."
And when he did so, he had to leave his family behind. "I broke them heart," he tells Rath. "They don't want me to leave but in the same time, at least they know that I will be safe — because they don't want to see me dead."
He couldn't get a visa to enter Europe or the U.S. Still, Mexico remained an option — and he left his home for the country in September 2012. Alkojak had a friend there, and he intended to stay for just a short spell. But as he watched from Mexico, Syria degenerated into a full-scale civil war, and Alkojak decided he couldn't go home.
Instead, he went north in March 2014 — straight to a checkpoint on the American border, between Tijuana and San Diego. He went up to the first officer he could find, handed over his passport and told the officer he needed asylum.
"He like confused — I remember his face," Alkojak says. "I remember he ask another [officer], like, 'Hey, we have guys from Syria,' and maybe he tell him like, 'Let him in.' "
Alkojak spent 10 months in an immigration detention center in Louisiana. While there, he was brought before a judge three times to plead his case for asylum.
It was also there that Alkojak got a call from his brother: Back in Syria, their mother had been killed in a bombing.
"He tried to hide this from me. He didn't want to make it worse in detention," Alkojak says. "But I like feel it in my heart. I tell him, 'Tell me, I know somethings happened,' and he tell me, 'Just be patient: Your mom passed away.' "
He still has his mother's phone number on his cellphone. He says that to this day, he still has trouble accepting her death.
"It's hard," he says. "What happened to Syria is not fair."
Eventually, immigration authorities denied Alkojak's case for asylum. In December 2014, Alkojak left the detention center under supervised release. Authorities have ordered his deportation, but, Alkojak says, he has not been informed of when — or to which country — he might be deported.
In the meantime, he's managed to get a work permit and a couple of part-time jobs in California — and he's met the love of his life. She's Vietnamese-American, and, like Alkojak, she had to leave her home country due to war.
In April, they got married.
"She's like my friend, my boss, you say — she's like my lover, my wife. And everything here, she's like, she's next to me," he says. "When I look at myself in the mirror, I see her. She understands me right away, she understands my situation."
As he awaits a decision on his deportation, Alkojak remains unsure of what will happen next.
"I hope to continue my life like anyone else. But what can you do?"
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Transcript
ARUN RATH, HOST:
We're going to focus now on the story of one man fleeing the Syrian Civil War, Khaled Alkojak. He's 31-years-old and one of the few Syrians who have made it to the U.S. since the start of the civil war there. Though even here, he remains in limbo - unsure of how long he can stay or whether he'll be deported. For now, he lives here in southern California. When we spoke at NPR West this week, he told me about his life in Syria before the war.
KHALED ALKOJAK: I'm like simple, let's say, guy. It's not like something special; I'm just like any Syrian guy from Damascus. I was work with my father; we have like our family business.
RATH: That family business was an Internet cafe. Alkojak helped run it. He was also going to school, studying computers. Then in 2011, the Arab Spring came to Damascus.
(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Chanting in foreign language).
RATH: Thousands poured into the street to demonstrate against Syria's President, Bashar al-Assad.
(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Chanting in foreign language).
RATH: Did you join in on the protests? How did you feel about it?
ALKOJAK: Well, maybe I'm with them emotionally. I want freedom for my country. I want to be open like Europe, like United States, like any country. That's my belief - to be free. But at same time, I don't want to join - I don't want to hurt my family. I was like, let's say, support them from inside but not doing anything because I'm scared.
RATH: As the uprising grew, Alkojak says he was also scared of getting drafted into Assad's army and forced to fight the rebels.
ALKOJAK: I don't accept to join any military. I don't like to - I don't accept to kill someone. That, I believe, so I find the best thing to leave our country.
RATH: And tell us about the family you had to leave behind. How did you tell them about it?
ALKOJAK: Well, I broke them heart. Of course, they don't want to me to leave but at the same time, they know at least I will be safe because they don't want to see me dead.
RATH: He says he couldn't get a visa to enter Europe or the U.S., but Mexico was an option. Alkojak had a friend there. He says the plan was supposed to be short term.
ALKOJAK: But everything changed.
RATH: He watched from Mexico as Syria degenerated into a full-scale civil war - no one was safe there. Alkojak decided he couldn't go home, instead he went north, straight to a checkpoint on the U.S. border.
ALKOJAK: I just walked on the border in Tijuana, San Diego. I was looking about any officer to go to him to ask him help. So just, I give him my passport, and I tell him I need asylum. He looked confused, I remember his face. I remember he ask another one - he tell him - hey, we have guys from Syria and maybe he tell him like, let him in. I went in, and they put me inside detention.
RATH: In detention.
ALKOJAK: Yeah, 10 months.
RATH: Alkojak spent 10 months in an immigration detention center in Louisiana. While there, he was brought before a judge three times to plead his case for asylum. It was also there that Alkojak got a call from his brother. Back in Syria, their mother had been killed in a bombing.
ALKOJAK: He tried to, like, hide this from me. He don't want tell me because I'm inside detention. He don't want like, let's say, make it worse. I'm in detention and - but I feel it in my heart, I swear. I tell him, tell me, I feel something happened. And he tell me, just be patient, your mom passed away. Until now, I'm refusing what happened to her. I have her number until now.
RATH: Still in your phone?
ALKOJAK: Yeah. It's hard. It's hard. What happened to Syria is not fair.
RATH: Eventually, immigration authorities denied Alkojak's case for asylum. In December of 2014, he was released from detention on the condition he routinely checks with an immigration officer. He has a year to appeal his case. In the meantime, he's managed to get a work permit and a couple of part-time jobs in California. And he's met the love of his life here. She's Vietnamese-American, and, like Alkojak, she had to leave her home country because of a war. In April, they got married.
ALKOJAK: We do everything together. She's like my friend, she's my boss, let's say. She's my lover, I love. She's my wife, she is - in everything here, I find her, like she is next to me. I look at myself in mirror when I see her. She understand me right away - she understand my situation.
RATH: Khaled, what do you think is next for you?
ALKOJAK: Well, honestly, I don't know because nothing is safe. Nothing, I mean guarantee. I don't have no guarantee. I hope to continue my life normally like anybody else, but what you can do?
RATH: Khaled Alkojak is a Syrian immigrant seeking asylum in the U.S. His next hearing is scheduled for January 2016. [POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: The audio of this story, as did a previous version of the Web story, incorrectly stated that Khaled Alkojak has another hearing regarding his asylum claim in January 2016. According to Alkojak, immigration authorities have denied his asylum claim, placed him on supervised release, and ordered his deportation. He says he has not been informed of when - or to which country - he might be deported. Lori K. Haley, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, says in a statement provided to NPR that “Mr. Alkojak was ordered removed by an immigration judge with the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) in August 2014. In December 2014, he was released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody on an order of supervision, which requires him to report regularly to ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers in Orange County while his removal order is in effect. Mr. Alkojak currently has no pending appeals.] Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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