County fielding influx of refugees from Iraq

Majority settle in east, which caters to growing Middle Eastern population

By Leonel Sanchez 10:00 a.m. January 4, 2009

Last fiscal year, 2,356 Iraqis arrived in San Diego County. -

LAURA EMBRY / Union-Tribune
Iraqi newcomers by the numbers
2,356 Iraqis who arrived in San Diego County in the past fiscal year.
13,823 Iraqis who came to the United States last fiscal year.
17,000 Number expected in United States this fiscal year.
5,000 Iraqis expected this year who worked for the U.S. government in Iraq.
33,000 Number of Iraqi refugees who came to the United States between 1991 and 2006, mainly in the early 1990s.
SOURCES: Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego and the U.S. State Department.

San Diego County has long been a haven for Iraqi refugees, most recently for a record wave of new arrivals.

The 2,356 Iraqis, mostly Chaldean Catholics and other Christian refugees, who arrived in the region last fiscal year are part of a nationwide program to resettle refugees from the war-torn country. It is the largest number of Iraqi refugees who have arrived in San Diego County during a single year. An additional 3,600 are expected this year.

Many of the newcomers are refugees like Salah Saour, 45, an engineer from Baghdad who is still adjusting to his new country after arriving with his wife and their two daughters in August. Saour, who is studying English at an adult school in El Cajon, said his family was not safe in Iraq.

He made a slashing gesture across his neck to show how two of his cousins were killed by extremists. The Syriac Christian and his family fled to Jordan and lived there for four years until given permission to come to the United States, where they have relatives in El Cajon.

“I hope to live in peace with my family and guarantee a future for my daughters,â€