"Thanks to God" in several different languages rolled off the tongues of Suleiman Zain, Fatmeh Abobaker and their children as expressions of gratitude upon hearing of their approval for participation in Habitat's homeownership program. "We have

traveled many miles, suffered the loss of many and have felt the pangs of hunger, but today we celebrate our blessings." "My family is ready to start building on our house today!" Fatmeh Abobaker said with excitement while the rest of her family expressed their excitement with broad grins after thanking God.
The Abobaker/Zain family escaped the ravages of tribal wars in Somalia where they saw men, women and children brutally tortured and murdered primarily because of clashes among the diverse clans. Fatmeh described the conflict as races not liking one another. Fatmeh says her husband left their country before the family because men were the first to be killed; although no one was spared the wrath of the killers. Fatmeh also felt compelled to stay in Somalia as long as her grandmother, who raised her and her twin sister were alive. Fatmeh's sister fled the country before Suleiman because her husband had already been murdered. After her husband fled, Fatmeh was left alone to care for her four children, a baby on the way along with her grandmother.
Fatmeh's grandmother died a year or so after Suleiman's departure, allowing Fatmeh to flee the country and join her husband. Fatmeh
remembered the long journey where the family walked for miles and miles. She began to cry as she described her swollen legs and weary children, but was determined to reunite her family. Fatmeh believed her husband was going to Yemen when he left Somalia; however there was no trace of him upon her arrival in Yemen. She looked for him with the help of the refugee service and other organizations. She went to camps and asked everyone who would listen about her husband. She failed at her attempts to find him until one day she learned a group of people from her country had gone to Syria. Fatmeh and her children gathered their meager belongings and prepared to go to Syria.
Fatmeh felt confident she would find her husband in Syria, and knew for sure she would get help from her half brother who lived there. Fatmeh was able to find her brother, but unfortunately, he left Syria and went to Holland only three months after Fatmeh and her children arrived. Fatmeh was devastated, but was undeterred in her quest to find Suleiman. She praised the refugee officials who helped her and her family when her brother left for Holland. Fatmeh gleefully describes finding her husband after looking for him for over a year. "We were all so happy!" Fatmeh says.
Fatmeh says the family applied to come to America a little while after finding Suleiman. They arrived in Chattanooga with the assistance of Bridge Refugee Services and members of the local Muslim community. "We have a good life in this country," says Suleiman. "My wife and I have good jobs." Fatmeh works in the dietary department at Memorial Hospital, and Suleiman works at Pilgrim's Pride. "Our children are respectful, obedient and are getting a good education at East Ridge High School." Eighteen year old Rahmah pipes in, "Our family thinks about the future and not the past." The teen describes how she and her four other siblings,
Fuad 16, Hawa 15, Mohammed 12 and Roqaya 11, joke about how the rooms are going to be distributed in their new home. They all conclude that no matter how they are distributed, it will be just fine, remembering when the entire family slept in one room. However, Rahmah asserts she is sure she will have a room of her own with a confident smile, "I am the oldest," she says. Fatmeh just throws her hands in the air and says, "I was sad before, but now I am happy. Thank you God!"