Last Refugees Welcomed to Utah

Chaos erupted the moment the Hassan family entered the arrivals area at the airport yesterday. Hundreds of Utah locals gathered to greet the family, many brings flowers, toys for the children and even a cake. The family escaped the war in Afghanistan, and were living in Pakistan while they waited for approval to come to the United States. With President Trump’s unprecedented ban on refugees for 120 days, they arrived just in time to settle here and are the last refugees to arrive in the state of Utah as the ban takes effect. As I was focusing my camera on the family, a schoolgirl approached one of the daughters and spoke to her in what seemed like a language the daughter understood. They hugged and smiled at each other. The schoolgirl then looked up to me, and in perfect English told me she was born in Iran. She tried to hold back tears as she continued to say she was lucky to speak to the family as they shared a similar native tongue. She paused, and said, “It makes me so sad people think all Muslims are terrorists. Because they’re not.” She looked lovingly at the family surrounded by cameras, and approached them for a final hug. Once the family began to depart the airport after the rush of reporters, the schoolgirl paused for a moment to wipe a tear off her face. She then chased the family down the hall just in time to wave good-bye as the elevator doors closed in the family, and the new residents of Utah ascended to their next destination: home.