I went to Albany today to meet Saad, he is a refugee from Baghdad, he has been in the United States for a little over a month. He came to Los Angeles from a refugee camp in the Middle East, he worked for the United States Embassy in Iraq during the war as a guard and a maintenance  supervisor.

He was a successful business person after the war, and then the Iraqi government confiscated  his business to help support the country’s civil war with the Islamic State.

He lost his business and most of his money. He has a wife and eight children. They are in Baghdad. it is not likely they will ever get to come here, not in the foreseeable future.

Several years ago, Saad was targeted for assassination by religious militants in reprisal for his work with America. He had to flee Iraq immediately.

He nearly lost his life in Iraq.

He was forced to leave everything behind, including his family.

He was given shelter in a United Nations refugee camp. He asked me not to reveal its name or location. He was able to gain entry to the United States on an emergency basis and was flown to Los Angeles and released. He had no work or support or  any kind of assistance.

It was too expensive for him and his fellow refugees to live in Los Angeles, and he couldn’t bear the crowded apartment. He had already had his heart attack in Baghdad.

Saad heard about the refugee community in Albany and also learned that RISSE, a refugee and immigrant support center, was there, and that  he might be able to get some help.

He has been living in a one room apartment with another man, and has  desperately been seeking an apartment of his own – there was no room for him there.

He is trying hard to bring his family here. He has heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure, his doctors say he cannot work, he is trying to find a job so he can support  his family if they are permitted to come here. That is his dream.

Some mornings, the staff at RISSE find  him shivering out in the cold, he sometimes is hungry or very cold when his city welfare check runs out.  He just stands outside, said Ali, hoping for help.

Ali knows him well now and has been trying to help him, he says he was once a very wealthy man who lost everything, in part because he supported the United States.

This week, Saad found an apartment in a senior citizen apartment complex in downtown Albany.

He has $144 for the first months rent, but he needed a security deposit of $215 in order to be allowed to move in. The money is due tomorrow, Wednesday. Saad has been frantically trying to find work, but could not.

I wrote a check for $400.

Saad only speaks Arabic. His life has been shattered, broken into a thousand pieces. He may not see his children again.

Because it is a non-profit, RISSE cannot give cash to the refugees or immigrants, only other kinds of support – help with taxes, language classes. Saad is taking an English language class there, he speaks very little English.

Ali was worried about Saad.

He called me and asked if the Army Of Good could help. I said we would. That is what we do. I met with Saad for an hour this afternoon in Albany. Ali translated in Arabic.

Saad is a very sweet man, and is deeply appreciative of this help. His eyes are filled with pain and loss. He speaks in a whisper. His hands sometimes tremble.

As he left, he turned and put a hand over his heart, a gesture of thanks to me. He then clasped my hand and hugged me. I did almost cry. But I never felt better than I did in that moment.

Ali drove him over to his new apartment to give them  his security deposit.

Next week, Ali and I are going to a local grocery store to bring  Saad groceries for the month, Ali isn’t sure he has any money left after paying his rent and some medical expenses. He says he takes eight pills a day.

On the way home, i called an immigration lawyer in Albany, and he said there was  no chance that Saad’s family could gain entry into the United States  under the current  immigration policies of this  administration.

Since he does not have a high-paying job,  and cannot realistically work in any job – he is ill and in  his 60’s – there is no way he could support eight children and their mother. So our government will not let them in. But the lawyer said he would investigate.

Saad is getting a small monthly stipend from Albany and there may be some additional assistance available through New York State. But he does at least have his own place to live, his own apartment for the first time since fleeing Baghdad several years ago.

I am going to keep in touch with Saad, I gave him my number and Ali will see him regularly.  It is a heartbreaking story and I would like to help him to the extent that it is possible.

This is the kind of work I want to do, the reason I got involved with the refugees. It is so much better to do good that argue about what good is. I am grateful to Ali, he has a huge heart and loving soul.

I thank the Army Of Good. And we are going to continue our support of the soccer team, now called the Albany Warriors. Ali has a great heart, we work so well together, a Jew and a Muslim trying to help these vulnerable people, caught in a storm not of their own making.

There are many stories like this told by the refugees I have met. My idea is to perpetrate small acts of great kindness, to fill the holes that can be filled. I think small and do what I can – what we can. I know our limits.

It was such a gift to me, to see Saad’s face when he took the check, and clutched it in his hands. He actually rushed outside and lined up some refugees because he thought I might want to take their pictures.

If you would like to help support this work for Saad, and this kind of work for me, please send a contribution to the Gus Fund, c/o Jon Katz. P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, or me via Paypal, [email protected]. Your contributions will go precisely where they are supposed to go, and quickly. They are needed.

Please mark  your donation “refugees,” or Saad, if you prefer. And thanks.