ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - After years of searching, a Kurdish family found their long-lost brother in the United States, a shadow of his former self, having lost his memory and control of parts of his body in a car accident.
Herish Nadir, a Kurdish man with American citizenship, returned to Utah from Sweden in 2020 to complete the formal procedures to bring his wife to Europe. However, six months after his return to the US, fate intervened, and Herish’s family lost contact with him.
“After Herish returned to America to bring his wife, we lost contact with him. Later, we found out that Herish had an accident, got hit by a car twice, and ended up staying in the hospital for a while,” Shwan Nadir, Herish’s brother told Rudaw.
After losing contact, Herish’s families decide to search for him, but faced issues with visa due to the Russia-Ukraine war, according to Shwan.
After finally getting the visa, Shwan and his wife, Tara, arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah, and began asking around and distributing brochures to ask for the whereabouts of Herish. They also offered a $1,000 reward for anyone who helps them find their brother.
“We came to Salt Lake City to search for Herish, who had been missing for four years. We didn’t know if he was alive or dead. We searched in parks and every possible place, talked to thousands of people,” Tara said.
Tara said that they talked to everyone on the streets, including the homeless people, as well as those who were addicted to drugs. She was worried that they might find him in one of the alleys doing drugs.
“I was the first person to see Herish riding a bicycle toward us, and I was amazed because it didn’t look like the Herish I knew. I called out, Herish, Herish!' but he didn't recognize me, and he was in shock … I saw Herish, unable to use his hands or legs properly, and his hands and lips were constantly trembling," she said.
During an interview via Skype with Rudaw’s Hemin Abdullah on the Diaspora program, Shwan said that one evening, while Herish was walking, he was hit by a car. After he got on his feet, the car returned and ran over his right side. After being left on the street for nearly an hour and a half, he was taken to the hospital to receive treatment. The accident severely affected his body and memory.
Herish lived in a church for a few years until being found by his family. Following the accident, he lost all his documents. Shwan was able to arrange an identification card and an American passport for him with the help of some Kurds in the United States and brought him back to Sweden, where he is receiving treatment.
Since he is not a Swedish citizen, Herish cannot benefit from all the health services, according to Shwan.
Following the accident, Herish’s wife has left him.
Hemin Abdullah and Diyar Kurda contributed to this report.
