Story Created: Nov 28, 2008 at 4:57 PM MDT
Story Updated: Dec 18, 2008 at 3:41 PM MDT
Because this 27-year-old Iraqi worked for American troops as an interpreter, he's afraid to be identified either in print or on TV, fearful it will cause problems for his family in Baghdad.
"It is dangerous," he said, "but it was my choice. Nobody obligated me to work for the Americans and I was paid for my work."
Three hundred military interpreters have been murdered in Iraq since 2003, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Mohammed did not want to end up on that list and was granted a special immigrant visa, designed specifically to help people who have risked their lives serving the American government overseas.
But now he's joined the ranks of Idaho's unemployed at a time when the state's economy lost more than 9,500 private sector jobs between September and October.
Jobs once available to refugees are being taken by Idahoans who have been laid off.
We asked the regional director of the International Rescue Committee in Boise if it is fair to bring refugees into the United States now to compete for jobs with Americans.
"It's not a question of fairness," said the IRC's Lesyle Moore. "We are extending humanitarian protection to them. If I was in the same situation I would want somebody to reach out to me"
The IRC says 1,000 refugees resettled in Boise during fiscal year 2008.
Once it was relatively easy for them to find work.
Not anymore.
And refugee agencies say the refugees lack the safety net available to many unemployed Americans. But going home is not an option.
"They came here because they had no choice," said Moore. "Their lives were threatened, they've already had family members killed. I have many refugees who have shrapnel in their bodies They have lost children because of explosives. We're bringing them physical safety and protection. It's a challenging time for everyone."
Mohammed says nobody owes him a job just because he helped Americans in Iraq, where unemployment is running at 20 percent.
He expects to work hard for his piece of the American dream.
"I will do what I have to to get a job," he said. "I want to better myself."
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