In the wake of the Fourth of July holiday, those of us at TOR are celebrating the freedom and security that thousands of our refugee clients have found in the United States. Over the weekend, the Chattanooga Times Free Press published a special feature highlighting the lives and experiences of several Chattanooga residents, including one Iraqi refugee who was resettled by Bridge Refugee Services:

The goodness in people, the feelings of safety and hope, have made the resettlement of Mona Abood and her family in the United States from Iraq a lot easier.

Mrs. Abood, from Lebanon, fled Iraq in 2006. She arrived in Chattanooga with her husband and three sons almost nine months ago.

She said she is able to experience freedom again.

Since the Aboods arrived in the area, her children have been able to go to school without her wondering if she's going to see them again.

In Iraq, Mrs. Abood paid to have her oldest son taken to school in a car and her middle child didn't go to school at all.

View the rest of the article and video feature at the Chattanooga Times Free Press. To learn more about Bridge Refugee Services and their work in the Chattanooga community, please visit their website.