SPOKANE, Wash. — Mahdi Majeed went from fleeing a war-torn Iraq to running his own business in Spokane.
He owns the Mariam International Foods Store near the Northtown Mall.
The shop and its shelves are humble, just like Majeed, but it has been quite a journey for him to get where he is now. Majeed lived in Baghdad, with his family, a place where he says he felt constantly in danger.
He said experiencing car bombs and civil unrest were the normal for him.
“It's very dangerous when I was there. When I moved, I just like saved my life,” Majeed said.
Majeed left Iraq in 2010 then landed in Turkey, where he waited for his refugee status to be approved. He was relieved to get the green light after 14 months of waiting. Then he made the journey to his new home all by himself.
“Everything is new to me. Like new country, new language. New everything to me. New culture, I mean, I love it actually,” Majeed said. “Freedom. I love the freedom.”
The freedom is great, and Majeed said he felt welcomed by his American neighbors as soon as he got here. However, he still felt homesick, and he missed his old family and friends.
American freedom has helped a little with that too, though. After settling in Spokane, he set his sights on owning his own business, and being his own boss.
Opening a shop to sell his favorite foods and goods from back home has been the perfect fit for him.
“People saw the sign there, and then they started coming here. And then it started growing and now it's good” Majeed said, “Yeah, I'm staying here until I die.Yeah, all my life I will be here, yeah.”