Narjes Al Hraishawi, 14, ties her younger sister’s, Fatima’s, hair Asinat, right, 2, tries to grab her headband from her older brother, Ali, 12. Abbas, left, 17, watches Youtube videos before driving two of the children to a carnival. The family’s children range from 17 to a year and a half.

Photos of all nine of the Al Hraishawi children are taped to the wall of Hussein’s room. The entire family was born in Iraq, but some of the older children were spent their whole childhood there.

Abbas Al Hraishawi plays with his youngest brother, Mohamed Baqer, 4, on Aug. 29, 2019, outside their home near downtown Columbia, Mo. Abbas has four younger brothers—while his father’s away, he must take care of them and take on a parental role. He fears for his brother’s safety when he plays outside. While he loves all his brothers equally, “Baqer is my favorite. He’s exactly like me,” said Abbas.

Zaynab Al Hraishawi speaks to her husband, Mohammed who's currently working in Iraq, about a possible eviction from their apartment, while Abbas, left, asks his mom to speak to his father to ask for permission to get money to go to a movie with his siblings on Aug. 7, 2019. "You have to pay for the rent, for the school, and for the kids fun," said their father, Mohammed.

Narjes, Abbas, Ali, and Fatima walk out after watching “Hobbs & Shaw,” an action-comedy movie on Aug. 7, 2019, at Forum 8 theaters in Columbia, Mo.

The Al Hraishawi family and Toni, a family friend and translator, break fast on the last day of Ramadan on June 3, 2019, at the families home. It was one of the last nights that their father was there before he left again to work in Iraq. 

Asinat, 2, looks out the family’s living room window towards downtown Columbia, Mo. The youngest children constantly want to play outside, but their older siblings fear for their safety and their mother is usually taking care of the other kids, preparing food or taking care of other house tasks.

Abbas, 17, tried to land a kick on his younger brother, Hussein Al Hraishawi, 15, while practicing Karate on May 12, 2019, in a parking lot near their home in Columbia, Missouri. The brothers learned Karate from their uncle back in Iraq. "If he hit me once, he win," said Hussein, referring to his brother, Abbas.

Zaynab Al Hraishawi watches the sunset with her daughters, Fatime, 8, left, Zahra, 1, bottom, and son, Baqer, 4, right, on Aug. 9, 2019, outside their home in Columbia, Missouri. The family came to the United States on Dec. 14, 2017, after their father, Mohammed, received death threats from Iraqi militia for working with the American military. The family of 11 rents two small apartments in section 8 public housing. Their father has been in Iraq for the past four months continuing his job as a Project Supervisor for the United States Army Corps of Engineers to provide for his family, as his wife doesn't speak English and is unable to work.

An Iraqi proverb about overcoming the adversities of life marks the room of Hussein Al Hraishawi. He wants to write all over the walls, but public housing inspectors come by the house a couple of times a month so instead, he erases old ones and writes new ones.

Narjes, 14, center, pays for the family's groceries with money she got from her mother. Their mother is unable to speak English on a level high enough to get groceries on her own so she often relies on her oldest children to do those tasks.

Al Hasan, Abbas, and Fatima ride the carousel at the Wade Show Carnival on Aug. 23, 2019, at the Columbia Mall in Columbia, Mo. It was the siblings’ first time going to a carnival in the US.

Zahra, 1, the youngest of the family, grabs onto her father Mohammed Al Hraishawi on the last day of Ramadan on June 3, 2019, at their home in Columbia, Missouri. Their father plans to return to Iraq in a few days in order to continue his job as a Project Supervisor for the United States Army Core of Engineers. While their father is away, the paternal responsibilities are passed onto 17-year-old Abbas, who's a Junior at Douglass High School. "It's hard to take this decision," said Mohammed. "Of course, it's hard for me to be away from my family.

Mohamed Al Hraishawi, the families father, returns home from being away for four months in Iraq on Sept. 7, 2019 in Columbia, Mo.

Mohammed Al Hraishawi caresses his son as he falls asleep after he returned home that night after nearly four months of being away for work in Iraq. Mohammed plans to stay in the US for the next couple of months to assure the families living situations and gain a better hold for how their future will be before he leaves again for Iraq.