PHILLIPSBURG, N.J. (Map, News) - Fed up with harassment and religious persecution in his hometown of Sialkot, Pakistan, Haroon Haroon gathered his family on the afternoon of Sept. 10, 2000, and informed everyone they'd be leaving for America in two days.

"I remember laughing," says daughter Ruby Haroon, 22, now a junior at Cedar Crest College in Allentown. "I thought it was a joke."

Her father couldn't have been more serious.

Armed with plane tickets and the help of a cousin already in the United States, the family left behind relatives, friends and a houseful of belongings.

Ruby, then 14, and the rest of the clan settled into an apartment on South Main Street in Phillipsburg. They were now far from the harassing calls and even a home break-in in their predominantly Muslim neighborhood for practicing their Christian beliefs without apology.

"We would have prayers at home and in public restaurants," Ruby remembers of her homeland, "so people saw and they knew."

The story of Ruby and her family is one of faith and perseverance, underscored by an eight-year struggle for citizenship in the United States.

At first, adjusting to American life was a struggle for Ruby and her family, which, in addition to her father, includes mother Josephine and brothers Zeshan, 20, and Farhan, 16.

Ruby enrolled at Phillipsburg High School. As the only Pakistani girl out of hundreds of teens, she had serious anxieties about fitting in.

Despite that, her father said, she excelled in school.

"Not long after she started at Phillipsburg, I got a phone call saying she had been awarded student of the month," he says. "She's always been very involved and good with her studies, but I was surprised how quickly she adjusted."

Shortly after arriving in Warren County, the family happened upon River of Life Presbyterian Church in a former storefront on South Main Street. They attended a service and have been members ever since.

Church members embraced the family and stood by the Haroons as they sought asylum - a four-year ordeal with a slim approval rate in New Jersey.

In a show of support that still touches the Haroons, members of the congregation accompanied the family in 2002 to Newark for a string of Immigration and Naturalization hearings.

Influenced by the family's strong support network, a judge granted the Haroons asylum in December of that year. The family - they now live on Mercer Street in Phillipsburg - hopes to receive full U.S. citizenship next year.

"They are a wonderful family, very much a part of our River of Life family," says church pastor, the Rev. Bill Slack. "I can't imagine the church without them."

Nowadays, life for Ruby couldn't be busier.

The full-time nursing student is also a full-time nurse's assistant at Warren Hospital in Phillipsburg.

Assigned to the medical/surgical floor, she's seen it all: cancer patients, bullet wounds, injured children. She says it doesn't faze her in the least.

"My experience in Pakistan has made me stronger," Ruby says.

She hopes to work full-time as a nurse after completing her schooling, and the consensus at Warren Hospital is that she's very much welcome.

"Everybody has a better day when Ruby's there," her supervisor, Donna Fritz, says. "She's a tremendous asset to Warren and we'd be lucky to have her back."

Ruby isn't the only one in her family giving back. Elder brother Zeshan completed training at Fort Benning, Ga., in December. He's preparing for a June deployment to Iraq as a National Guard infantryman.

"My brother is proud to be an American," Ruby says. "He wants to be a part of the help."

Ruby's father works in the warehouse at Bihler of America in Alpha, which makes metal springs, surgical needles, fasteners and electrical parts. Her mother works with the disabled at the Hunterdon Developmental Center in Union Township and teaches Sunday school at River of Life.

When reflecting upon her experience in Pakistan and her new life in America, Ruby looks to her parents.

"I could never thank them enough," she says. "They left everything just for us. In Pakistan, I never thought I'd be sitting here in jeans or driving a car. I thank God every day."

At 22, she says, she could want nothing more.

"I would be selfish to say I want more. What I have is more than enough."

---

Information from: The Express-Times, http://www.lehighvalleylive.com