Church to dozens of refugees from far-flung places like Myanmar and Sudan as well as Iraq , is a welcome break for Faraj , who is struggling to build a new life . Unable to translate her skills as a Baghdad salon owner into a job as a stylist , Faraj does not have the money to pay $ 625 due in rent . `` I have an electricity bill to pay , I have no job , '' she says . `` I have no way of knowing what to do . '' Government and aid group assistance to refugees does not last long . Faraj plans to ask an aid group , the International Rescue Committee , for more help , but she 's not sure what else she can do . Soon she hopes her 21-year-old daughter will arrive from Syria and bring with her better luck . `` My daughter is coming and hopefully I will work , '' she says , as Nepali dancers in elaborate costumes entertain the diners . Across the room , more and more refugees line up for the potluck dinner . `` Do n't worry , there will be enough
ATLANTA , Georgia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Sajida Faraj scoops mashed potatoes and peas onto her plate , not quite sure of the history behind her first Thanksgiving meal . But she knows how thankful she is to be at a church in Atlanta this November , lining up for turkey , stuffing and pecan pie . Sajida Faraj took a break to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal with fellow refugees . Three years ago she grabbed her son , now 12 , and fled Iraq . Her husband , a carpenter who worked for Americans , had left for the market one day in Baghdad and never returned . Faraj says she knows he is dead , even though she has never seen his body . When the rest of her family started to receive death threats , she felt she had no choice but to run . Faraj and her son , Ahmed , made it across the border to Syria and later entered the United States , two of more than 15,000 Iraqi refugees to be allowed in since the beginning of the war in 2003 . The Thanksgiving meal , served at the Avondale Pattillo United Methodist