Joe’s Story
Joe was born in Morocco in 1968. When Joe was four years old, he moved to the United States with his adoptive father, who was in the Navy, and his biological mother. Joe spent the next few years of his childhood living with his family on a military base in South Carolina. When Joe was eleven years old, his family moved to Virginia, where they finalized his adoption.
In 2020, when Joe was 53 years old, he was deported to Morocco. Having grown up and spent all of his youth and adult life in the US, this was a life-altering change. Now, having lived in Morocco for about two years, Joe struggles to make ends meet. A carpenter by trade, he is unable to find work. After arriving in Morocco, Joe also found out that he is diabetic. Due to having an unsteady income, he is not able to consistently access medications and often goes weeks without medical care. Communication with doctors has proven challenging, as Joe does not speak Arabic well, making it difficult for him to convey his level of pain.
For Joe, coming home to the U.S. would mean being able to access the medical care he urgently needs, and not having to choose between food and medication. Joe is homesick, and longs to be reunited with his family and friends.