Interview with Bhai Shabbir Malbari, Houston, by Mudar Patherya

 Since my sister was a green card holder, we sought raza from Huzurala for migrating to USA in 1987 and the first thing he asked was ‘Houston jaao chho?’ when we had not even told him.

So we flew into the country on a tourist visa and simply stayed back, expecting that our papers would be formalised and we would be given a green card within weeks. Weeks became months, months became years and years became a decade.


We managed a temporary permit. But no green card. And no work. The immigration department pronounced: 17 to 20 years before we could hope to be confirmed as legal residents.

 Rather than live like fugitives – we could not set foot outside the country, for instance, as we didn’t think we would be taken in again – we decided to submit our araz to Huzurala when he came to Houston at the time of the masjid’s iftetaah in 1996. At the ziaafat of a friend, the hostess Haoraban took my wife by hand into Huzurala’s presence and said: ‘Maula, aa mara saheli chhey and dus waras thayi gaya chhey and huji tuk green card nathhi milo!’ Huzurala walked around 40 feet with his hands in mine and then said ‘Main dua karees!’

 
Two years later, Huzurala came to the USA for the iftetaah of the Dallas masjid. Rashida, my wife, submitted her araz to Huzurala: ‘Maula, hamey yahaa phasaai gayaa chhey. Aap please dua kariye!’ And this time Huzurala replied ‘Main tara waastey dua karees!’

 Three years later during our ziaafat following the Houston ashara, while taking Huzurala by hand to the car, he suddenly asked ‘Tamaari Haj thayi gayi chhey?’ I told Huzurala our story – the tourist visa, the temporary permit and being ‘prisoners’.

 ‘Karbala ni ziayarat thayi gayi chhey?’ Huzurala asked.

‘Ji na Maula, Karbala bhi natthi thayi. Yahaan si niklaatu nahin!’ I replied.

And Huzurala merely replied: ‘Karbala jaao!’

‘Maula, yahaa si to niklaatu nahin,’ I explained.

And Huzurala repeated: ‘Karbala jaao!’

When the post-9/11 finger printing procedure commenced in 2002, the lawyer indicated we had a good chance for the green card. ‘Only another five years,’ he said.

In April 2004, my wife Rashida informed our lawyer that immigration interviews had commenced and when could we expect our chance. He replied ‘No idea’. The very next day, we were summoned for our interview. We presented ourselves, were interviewed, got our sticker (!), stepped out and received an urgent call from my nephew: ‘Maula yeh hamnaa farmaayu chhey ke aap Karbala padhaarey chhey!’ We diverted the car to the travel agent and booked our tickets for Karbala before getting home.

The first time we put our foot outside USA in 17 years was for Karbala on the insistence of a man whose words were not an indication of what was going to happen but an indication of what he was going to make happen.

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