An Iraqi family was barred from flying from Cairo to
New York on Saturday after US President Donald Trump
signed an order restricting arrivals from seven Muslim
countries.
Egyptian officials said the family had visas and were in
transit when they were prevented from boarding the
EgyptAir plane to New York’s JFK airport.
Fuad Sharef, 51, and his wife and three children were
instead forced to board a flight back to Arbil in Iraq’s
autonomous region of Kurdistan, he told AFP.
Trump had on Friday signed a sweeping executive order
to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough controls
on travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria
and Yemen.
“I had sold my house, my car, my furniture. I resigned
from work and so did my wife. Itook my children out of
school,” said Sharef of the family’s preparations to
resettle in Nashville, Tennessee under a special
immigrant visa. Back in Arbil, the pharmaceutical
industry manager, who had previously worked for an
NGO subcontracted by the US aid agency, said he was
devastated.
“Donald Trump destroyed my life. My family’s life. I used
to think America was a state of institutions but it’s as
though it’s a dictatorship,” he said.
“For a decision like this to come out and be
implemented immediately, and against whom? Against
a valid visa holder.”
“I put my life at risk, working with the Americans at a
time that it could have gotten you killed,” he added. The
family had been barred at Cairo after a flight manifest
was sent to JFK airport, which responded with
instructions that they were not to board, according to
airport officials.
EgyptAir’s website has not provided updated travel
advice for the United States.
Qatar Airways, one of the largest Middle East airlines,
said on its website that citizens of those seven
countries could still travel to the United States if they
had a permanent residence permit.
The Qatari travel alert said government officials and
their immediate family members, as well as
representatives of international organisations were
exempt from the restrictions.
