Woman Emotionally Reunites With Dog After She Was Stranded By Trump's Ban
If you're a dog owner (or simply a human being with feelings), you might want to break out some tissues for this story.
Nazanin Zinouri, an Iranian citizen who is a legal resident of the US, was recently barred from boarding a flight from Dubai to Washington, DC.
Why?
Due to President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban, which temporarily bars refugees and people from seven predominately Muslim countries — including Iran — from entering the US, she was stranded.
Like thousands of other people impacted by Trump's executive order, Zinouri was completely taken aback when she was not allowed to travel back to the US, where she's lived for the past seven years.
Zinouri, an engineer, obtained her PhD from Clemson University. She's employed in the US and has a work visa.
On January 20, the day Trump was inaugurated, she went back to Tehran to visit family and friends.
She planned on staying there until February 10, CNN reports, but rushed back when Trump signed the executive order on January 27.
Zinouri made it to Dubai, where she was ultimately told she wouldn't be allowed to return to the US and was flown back to Tehran.
In a viral post to Facebook, Zinouri said,
I normally don't write long posts or any kind of political or religious comments. But today I just couldn't hold it any longer. Friday 1/20/17 started like any other normal day. I was excited about my trip to Tehran. After all I only get to visit them once a year. I was excited and anxious at the same time. I was worried about my little puppy but I couldn't wait to see my mom... It was an uneventful trip.
But then things changed,
The happiness didn't last that long. On Wednesday, we started hearing rumors about new executive orders that will change immigration rules for some countries including Iran. Soon we started reading drafts like everyone else. I might be banned from going back?!?! No that can't be true. I'm not gonna let that ruin my trip. But then it got serious so fast. Before I knew it, it was actually happening. Even though I didn't want to leave my family. I quickly booked a ticket to get on the next flight back.
She was completely blindsided by all of this,
Only a few hours after the order was signed, I got to the airport, got on a plane and made it to Dubai. After waiting in the line to get my documents checked and after 40 minutes of waiting, I was ready to board the plane to Washington, only to have officers ask me to live the boarding area. "For security reasons your boarding is denied."!!! Yes after almost 7 years of living the the United States, I got deported!!!
She had an entire life in the US, and with the stroke of a pen it was taken away,
No one warned me when I was leaving, no one cared what will happen to my dog or my job or my life there. No one told me what I should do with my car that is still parked at the airport parking. Or what to do with my house and all my belongings. They didn't say it with words but with their actions, that my life doesn't matter. Everything I worked for all these years doesn't matter. I just had to say it.
Donald Trump's travel ban has been temporarily halted, and green card holders and people with work visas (like Zinouri) have been allowed to return to the US.
Zinouri landed in Boston on Sunday, where she was reunited with the adorable dog she was worried she might never see again.
The pictures of this reunion are incredibly touching.
It's sad that Zinouri had to go through this ordeal.
But, thankfully, she is back in the US and has her best pal at her side again.
Citations: Iranian engineer returns to the US after travel ban put her life on hold (CNN)
