Sudan family still plans US move despite fears
KHARTOUM: Hours after an American court struck down a controversial travel ban, Mohamed al-Khatim’s family began finalising plans to leave Sudan, despite concerns over their new life in the US.
Going to the United States has been a seven-year dream, but he worries that US President Donald Trump’s speeches have created a hostile atmosphere.
“This American president’s speeches are feeding hatred in American society and on the streets of the US. If I’m going for a better life than in my country, this kind of talk makes me hesitate,” Khatim said.
Trump’s executive order banning refugees and nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Sudan, had put the family’s plans on hold.
But last week a Seattle court struck down the ban, and on Thursday a federal appeals court refused to reinstate it.
“After the travel ban all our hopes were shattered,” said Khatim’s wife Samah al-Amin, lifting her eight-month-old boy onto her lap as she sat in her parents’ home in a suburb in the city of Omdurman.
The two had been cleared for US visas as part of the US Diversity Immigrant Visa programme, she said.
They moved out of their Khartoum flat a month ago and were busy completing preparations to travel when the ban came into force.
“We have moved into my parents’ home where we are currently staying, but all our belongings are scattered,” said Amin, 33, dressed in a black head scarf and a long skirt. — AFP