Episode 101: From Iraq to Indiana - Hope, Help, and Humanity
Guests: Saad Tawfeeq - Candidate for Pleasant Township (Johnson Co) Trustee
https://linktr.ee/SaadTawfeeqForTrustee
Welcome to the HoosLeft Podcast, a show about Indiana politics, history, and culture from an unapologetically leftist perspective. My name is Scott Aaron Rogers and I’m recording from Bloomington.
Now, for good reason, we spend a lot of time talking about the creep toward authoritarianism under Donald Trump. And don’t get me wrong, the man is fundamentally a fascist who governs like the organized crime boss he is, but he’s got a ways to go if he wants to become a real dictator. We should all fight every day to ensure that doesn’t happen.
My guest today has experienced life under an actual totalitarian regime and - having chosen America - his love for our country and faith in its institutions shines brightly. After an Election Night that included big wins for democracy, we’re doubling down on hope with his refreshing perspective, a needed departure from the jaded doom & gloom view that often defines this space.
Saad Tawfeeq is an Iraqi-born Hoosier marking 10 years as a US citizen - we actually recorded this interview on the anniversary of his citizenship. His family fled political persecution under Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, assisted US forces during the war, and escaped through multiple countries to get to the states, only for Saad to suffer repeated health setbacks. Through all this, he persisted, studying for the US citizenship exam while undergoing dialysis treatment.
After recovering, Saad did something that was unavailable to his family in their home country - he became politically active, a super-volunteer for the Clinton campaign in 2016. He has remained active in local politics, with runs for Greenwood City Council and Johnson County Council. Though he’s yet to break though in red Central Indiana, those setbacks barely qualify as molehills after the mountains he’s already scaled.
Saad Tawfeeq knows tough times. And now he’s running for township trustee, the elected official entrusted with helping us though our own hard times - when we need last resort help with the rent, utility bills, and food assistance. Don’t it always seem to go that those who’ve been down the dark road are the ones you want by your side when you have to navigate that road yourself?
In the following conversation, we’ll talk about his family’s escape from Iraq, their years in limbo, and the desire to always come to America. We’ll talk about his health setbacks and how he used that time to prepare for US citizenship. Then, we’ll turn to politics, looking at his work for the Clinton campaign, then at his own campaigns for local office. We discuss how he navigates bias and harassment from neighbors, and I wonder if immigrants don’t make better citizens than many of the folks that were born here. And through all of it, his love of country shines though brightly, in a way many of us other, jaded native-born Americans might have lost.
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Now, here is my conversations with Saad Tawfeeq.
In the Interview
Special Immigrant Visas for Iraqis: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/special-immg-visas-iraqis-employed-us-gov.html
Duties of the Township Trustee: https://www.portercountyin.gov/2020/Township-Trustees
Recent scandals in Indiana trustees offices: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2025/10/30/twelve-times-indiana-township-trustees-were-charged-in-indiana/86680428007/
US Citizenship Test (Can you pass?) https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/questions-and-answers/100q.pdf
Tawfeeq for Johnson County Council 2024: https://dailyjournal.net/2024/05/29/tawfeeq-named-democratic-nominee-for-johnson-county-council/
2016 Nuvo article: https://www.nuvo.net/news/news/the-beacon-of-the-american-dream-brought-an-iraqi-family-to-indianapolis/article_3f9cb57d-f231-57d3-b072-b672ecac3aa1.html
Prelude to the Iraq war: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prelude_to_the_Iraq_War
Iraq war timeline: https://www.cfr.org/timeline/iraq-war
The rise and fall of ISIS: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/6/20/the-rise-and-fall-of-isil-explained
Iraq civilian death toll: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-24547256
Campaign reel: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1925206548407759
Citizenship hasn’t stopped ICE in many cases: https://www.propublica.org/article/immigration-dhs-american-citizens-arrested-detained-against-will
Most US citizens couldn’t pass citizenship exam: https://citizensandscholars.org/resource/national-survey-finds-just-1-in-3-americans-would-pass-citizenship-test/
People who experienced struggle are more empathetic: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_doesnt_kill_you_makes_you_kinder
Once again, that was Saad Tawfeeq, celebrating ten years as a US citizen and running for Pleasant Township Trustee in Johnson County. I hope you enjoyed his refreshingly positive view of America circa 2025.
And, in an unusual move, we’ll keep the good vibes rolling this Sunday morning on HoosLeft This Week, which is now streaming exclusively on our own channels - YouTube, Facebook Live, and of course at HoosLeft.US. Indiana’s most thorough weekend morning news and politics talk show, it’s a lot of fun - if you can call following the news in this timeline fun. I bring together a couple of friends to talk about the week’s headlines from around Indiana and beyond. I hope to see you there in the comments, but if you can’t make it live, the program will be available as a podcast Sunday afternoon. This week, we’re gonna talk all about Tuesday’s big wins for Democrats in the off year elections, and the lessons Hoosiers can take away.
Thanks again to Saad for his time today and for his unrelenting positivity - and thank you for listening. One last reminder to please consider contributing to this project with a paid subscription at HoosLeft.US, where you’ll find my entire archive. I rely solely on the generosity of kind patrons like you to make this information available for free to everybody. In addition to the website, you can find me on Bluesky, Instagram, and Threads at HoosLeft.US and on Facebook, X, TikTok, Mastodon, and YouTube at HoosLeft. Direct message me at any of those sites with feedback, tips, ideas, and concern or email me at scott@hoosleft.us. While you’ve got the old email machine out, please forward the show to a friend and have them pass it on, too. Let’s keep building this project - and a truly democratic state - one conversation at a time. Until the next one, this has been the HoosLeft podcast. I’m Scott Aaron Rogers. Love each other, Indiana.
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