(cache)City of Refugees: How Houston became a resettlement magnet

1of4Ali Al Sudani, an Iraqi refugee, supervises the Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston's refugee services department.Photo: Andrew Kragie

2of4Afghan refugees Zeba Mohammad Arif left, and her daughter Mahnaz Kashmiri in their apartment in Houston.
Photo: James Nielsen, Staff

3of4Prince Sawbo, 3, runs around his apartment as he awaits heart surgery at the end of this month on July 2, 2014, in Houston, Tx. Princess Sawbo, a refugee from Liberia, naturalized in April of this year with a fee waiver. Her U.S.-born son, Prince Sawbo, has had severe health complications throughout his life that prevent Princess from working.Photo: Mayra Beltran, Houston Chronicle

Ali Al Sudani did not know who wanted to kill him. In the chaos of southern Iraq in 2004, anyone could become a target: translators, journalists, teachers. Al Sudani even knew a barber who was assassinated. So when he started to receive anonymous threats, he knew he had to leave his job translating for the British army.

A mechanical engineer by training, Al Sudani signed up to translate for the British in Maysan, his hometown about 120 miles north of Basra. In the first months after the 2003 invasion, the city welcomed coalition forces with open arms. People threw flowers to the soldiers, he said. Market vendors would not let soldiers pay for their souvenirs.

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The welcome faded quickly. Sectarian conflicts consumed Iraq. Locals working with coalition forces became targets for assassination. After several years translating for the British and for the Coalition Provisional Authority, Al Sudani took a translator job with a Czech nonprofit working in Maysan.

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Assistant County Attorney Steven Dieu, 53, earned refugee status 36 years ago and eventually landed in Houston after months in a Malaysian camp.

Photo: Dave Rossman, Freelance

Seng San and Neg Lahpai, from the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, waited to perform at the World Refugee Day at the University of St. Thomas on June 13.

Photo: Gary Coronado, Houston Chronicle

Ahmed Badr, 16, is an Iraqi refugee and junior at J. Frank Dobie High School. He is writing a memoir of his life before arriving in Houston. ( Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle )

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Staff