Women of the World names Syrian refugee Utah’s mother of the year

Rzan Abdul Bari hasn’t just sacrificed for her children, she’s risked her life for them.

Abdul Bari and her husband, Nour Eddin, escaped from Syria with their five children — three of them disabled — shortly after a civil war began in their home country. For her untiring devotion to her children, the nonprofit Women of the World, which helps refugees assimilate in America, named her Utah mother of the year on Saturday.

After four years in Libya and Egypt, including time in refugee camps, the Abdul Baris relocated to Utah just over three years ago. They’ve made a home for themselves and their children — ages 5-21 — and Rzan Abdul Bari has been the primary caregiver to the three who are disabled. (Two are in wheelchairs; the children are paralyzed and have autism.)

But the recognition from Women of the World caught her off guard.

“It was a big surprise for me,” she said through a translator. “I don’t know how you chose me. How do you know about me? I’ve been working so hard, but no one gave me this attention. I cannot believe it.”

Samira Harnish, who founded Women of the World in 2010 to help immigrants assimilate, said she chose Abdul Bari because of her selfless devotion to her children. And to make a point about Mother’s Day.

“Some of the ladies, they don’t have Mother’s Day in their country. And some of them, they have Mother’s Day, but because of wars, they don’t celebrate it,” she said. “All the refugee mothers, they went to the end of the world to save their kids. They faced war, oppression, poverty, and they came here to build a new life for them. They deserve to be celebrated.

“And Rzan deserves to be celebrated for all that she’s done for her children. For 21 years, she’s taken care of them. She had to quit school to take care of them.”

The annual event, held this year at the Salt Lake City and County Building, also is a chance to teach immigrant husbands about Mother’s Day.

“I tell them, ‘You have to go and cook for her. Or take her out for dinner,’” Harnish said. “And the children have to do something nice for her.”

Even before the Syrian civil war began, the Abdul Baris faced huge challenges. There were very few opportunities for their children; only a few schools taught children with disabilities, and those that existed were extremely expensive.

“It was a surprise for us when we saw that in America, they have a place for the disabled,” Nour Eddin Abdul Bari, who works as a chef, said through a translator. “They treat them as a human being. It’s not like it was in Syria.”

And he and his wife feel fortunate to have settled in Salt Lake City.

“When we came here, Utah was like our mom and dad,” he said through a translator. “They lifted our spirits. They helped us with a lot of things. With the kids, of course.”

What Rzan Abdul Bari really wants is to give back to the community in Utah.

“She wants to have a school so she can lift the heavy burden from other families,” Harnish said. “She wants to have that school one day so she can help the kids. It’s her dream.”

“I know how to take care of the kids. I know how to train people to care for them,” Abdul Bari said.