Finding Home

How an Eritrean native faced adversity and made Henderson his home

Hussen Abubeker is a 27-year-old thriving Hendersonian who works in Information Technology at Methodist Hospital, takes classes at Henderson Community College, and is a devout member of the Islamic Center of Evansville.

Like many Americans, Hussen has the freedom to work, get an education, and worship however he pleases. However, it hasn’t always been easy for the Eritrean native.

When Hussen was young, he was almost forced into the military in Asmara, Eritrea (in East Africa) where he would serve for the rest of his life. There, he would receive no education and would struggle through the hot Eritrean summers with a lack of food and water.

For many Eritreans, this was life. A military life.

Leaving Eritrea

In 1999, Hussen’s father left Eritrea for the United States. The family, including Hussen, his mother, two brothers and four sisters, also applied to leave Eritrea but were denied. In Eritrea, Hussen says those who are denied must wait seven years to reapply.

Fast forward to 2007. Hussen’s family reapplied and were approved. As they scurried to get all of their paperwork completed, Hussen, his older brother, and sister were denied their exit visa due to their age. Hussen and his siblings were over 16, which meant they were required by the Eritrean government to serve their military.

Hussen said “goodbye” to his mother and other siblings as they left for the United States, with the hope that he would see them again.

“Something was telling me I was going to see them again,” says Hussen. “Nothing would upset me. Even though I cried a little bit, I understood the situation. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen.”

Hussen and his siblings decided the only way they could leave Eritrea was to be “smuggled” into Sudan. To do this, Hussen called upon his cousin, who lived in Sudan.

Hussen’s cousin hired a smuggler to pick them up at the Eritrea/Sudan border, which was not an “easy place to get to,” he says.

“We had to get special permission to go to the Eritrea/Sudan border because anyone that goes there is attempting to escape the country,” Hussen says ironically.

At the border, Hussen says they had to bribe the immigration officers by fixing technology issues at the immigration office. Luckily, Hussen’s brother was an expert in technology, he says.

Entering Sudan

After a long day at the immigration office, the smuggler finally picked them up and took them into Sudan. Hussen says this part of the journey was most difficult because they would be stopped and questioned about who they were and if they were trying to escape the country. Hussen says he was worried he would be identified as Eritrean because he spoke Tigrinya – not Sudan’s native language, Arabic.

“I had to pretend as if I was deaf because I didn’t speak Arabic,” says Hussen. “My sister and brother spoke Arabic, so they didn’t have to act like they were deaf. When we were stopped, I didn’t smile, and I kept a quiet and serious face. I was just so nervous and was so scared.”

After three hours, the siblings finally made it to Hussen’s cousin’s house. Little did he know, they would be there for almost a year due to the expiration of their Eritrean passports.

“We had to go to the Eritrea Embassy to get our passports, but we had to tell them we were getting the passports to go back to Eritrea, even though we were going to the United States,” says Hussen.

Arriving in the United States

Luckily, Hussen says his father reached out to an Eritrean Ambassador in Washington D.C., who was able to get their passports renewed. In just a month, they obtained their exit visa and began their 16-hour flight to the United States. Hussen landed in Alexandria, Virginia and was finally reunited with his family.

“My dad and mom greeted me at the airport. It was great. It was one of the best days, and it was the best feeling I ever had to reunite with my family,” Hussen says.

Hussen quickly took advantage of his newfound freedom by enrolling in a transitional high school to learn English and began working full-time at a parking garage to support his family. However, after three years, he says he felt overwhelmed and just as “stuck” as he did in Eritrea.

“I started thinking, working and going to school full time was crazy,” says Hussen. “It had been almost three years of doing the same thing, and I knew I needed to do something different. It was so hard to make the decision of whether to focus on work only or school.”

Moving to Kentucky

In 2013, Hussen left his family, job, and high school in Virginia to enroll at Earle C. Clements Job Corps Center in Morganfield, Kentucky, where he could focus solely on school.

Hussen says his first impression of Kentucky was not what he expected.

“I had never been to Kentucky,” says Hussen. “Virginia was so busy, so when I got to rural Kentucky, I thought, ‘people actually live out here?’”

He quickly adapted to Kentucky’s “laid back environment” he calls it, and eventually moved to an apartment in Henderson. “It seemed like the perfect environment where I could focus on my school and trade in technology,” says Hussen.

It didn’t take long for Hussen to get involved. He enrolled in college at Henderson Community College, was hired as the Clinic Information Systems Specialist at Methodist Hospital, and became a member of the Islamic Center of Evansville.

Hussen says moving to Henderson is one of the best things that has ever happened to him.

“People have been very welcoming in Henderson. They helped me find an apartment. They want me to stay here. Regardless of my differences, my faith, they still accepted me. And that’s the part I really love about Henderson.”

Hussen says he encourages Americans to take advantage of the multiple opportunities available to them.

“Don’t take for granted the freedom that exists here in the United States, but instead, take advantage of every opportunity we are surrounded with,” says Hussen.

Hussen will finish his associate’s degree in Business Management Informatics at HCC in 2018 and then will transfer to Western Kentucky University to study Healthcare Administration. Hussen continues to thrive working in IT at Methodist Hospital.