It was 1981 and Arkan Somo, then 20, was driving in Baghdad, Iraq, where he was born and raised. He passed several cars and thought nothing of it. Unbeknown to Somo, however, the cars carried officials from President Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath Party.
One of the cars sped up next to Somo and forced his car to stop on the side of the road.
“Several men got out and said I should not have passed them,” Somo said. “When they saw I was wearing a chain and cross, they beat me. The next day I was arrested and jailed.”
“Christians were second-class citizens in Iraq. It ran deep and historical.”
“I knew to stay out of conflicts because, regardless of the cause, the Christian would be beaten or arrested.”
Arkan Somo
(Jan Goldsmith)
He describes how in his grandfather’s village Iraqis had a custom of wiping their hands on Christians’ clothes when leaving a restaurant. “If the Christians resisted, they would get beaten up,” he said. “My grandfather would bring a towel to restaurants to avoid getting his clothing soiled.”
Somo and his family, including 12 siblings, are Chaldeans, who are Catholics with ancestorial roots in ancient Iraq then called Babylon. They represent less than 2 percent of the Iraqi population.
By the late 1970s, Saddam Hussein assumed power as Iraq’s president and ushered in an era of tyranny and wars. “Saddam was in control, and anyone who expressed different views was eliminated,” Somo recalled. “People did not want to attract attention to themselves or say anything, especially Christians.”
“There was huge fear and everyone wanted to leave.”
In 1978, Somo’s older brother left for America and settled in San Diego.
Somo left three years later, traveling to Athens where he applied for refugee status in the United States. The owner of a grocery where his brother worked agreed to serve as his American sponsor.
“I had learned about America’s freedom and wanted the American dream,” he said.
The process took 1½ years during which he worked in a factory, earning enough to cover living expenses.
After his visa was approved, Somo left Athens and arrived in San Diego on July 27, 1982.
“I cried tears of joy,” he said. “I felt freedom in every sense of the word. I could say anything I want without getting arrested or beaten up.”
Somo, who had learned English in grade school, lived with his brother in Chula Vista and worked at a fast-food restaurant while taking community college business classes.
After two years at the fast-food restaurant, he borrowed money to become part-owner and manager of a pizza restaurant.
He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1988. “It was the second time I cried with joy,” he said.
Later that year, he visited an ill relative in Iraq and met Baydaa. They fell in love and were married. The couple returned to San Diego and have shared freedom and the American dream for 35 years.
They achieved success together as working partners in business, acquiring and managing another pizza restaurant, convenience stores, gas stations, a shopping center and residential rentals.
They raised four children and today have five grandchildren. Most of Somo’s family eventually left Iraq and resettled in San Diego.
Somo, now 62, lives in Rancho San Diego in East County. He has become a leader in the community. He co-founded Neighborhood Marketing Association to help small independent convenience stores and was president for the first seven years during which the association grew to 300 members.
He has served on numerous nonprofit boards of directors and advisory boards, including the Heartland Human Relations and Fair Housing Association, East County Chamber of Commerce and 23 years with the San Diego Crime Commission.
He founded a Youth Foundation and Scholarship Fund at St. Peter Cathedral.
He still celebrates the freedom he felt the first day in San Diego. Five times he has been keynote speaker at INS naturalization ceremonies. “I have a strong belief that you can achieve anything you want,” he would say while espousing freedom. “The only limitation is what you put on yourself. If persistent, hard-working and ethical, you will make it.”
About this series
Jan Goldsmith is an emeritus member of the U-T’s Community Advisory Board. He is an attorney and former law partner, judge, state legislator, San Diego city attorney and Poway mayor.
Someone San Diego Should Know is a column written by members of the U-T’s Community Advisory Board about local people who are interesting and noteworthy because of their experiences, achievements, creativity or credentials.