Refugee Resettlement

The international conversation about refugees – including in the United States – has become increasingly politicized.

The Clooney Foundation for Justice’s Refugee Resettlement program provided financial and other support for refugees who had been approved for entry into the US following the government’s security vetting, and to other victims displaced by war, to help them rebuild their lives.

We have been especially inspired by Hazim, a Yazidi refugee who came to the United States from Iraq in January of 2017.

Since childhood, Hazim has wanted nothing more than to complete his education and go to college. Thanks to an incredible work ethic and fierce intelligence, Hazim was on track to do just that, when, in November of 2013, Al-Qaeda terrorists attacked and killed two Yazidi bus drivers transporting Yazidi students to the University of Mosul. Under threat of extraordinary violence, 2,000 Yazidis were forced to drop out of school, including Hazim. Through many hardships that followed, including a narrow escape from an ISIS attack on his village that resulted in the death, capture, or enslavement of over 530 people, Hazim never lost hope.

CFJ is very proud to have supported Hazim when he first began rebuilding his life in the United States. In 2017, Hazim was accepted into one of the premier universities in the United States, where he began his studies (once again) in September. In July of 2018, he was placed on the Dean’s List due to his superior academic performance during his freshman year. In August of 2018, he participated in a conference on global conflict; read more about it here and see his recorded remarks in the video below.

We are excited to see the impact he will make in his new community and beyond.