TOLLESON, ARIZONA — Fahad Al-Kadhim survived three days of torture at the hands of Al-Qaeda as a teenager, spent years interpreting for the US military during combat operations in Iraq, immigrated to the United States, earned his CDL, and on Thursday was awarded a 2024 Freightliner truck and $50,000 to launch his own trucking company through Progressive Insurance’s Keys to Progress program.
Al-Kadhim was 17 years old in 2007 when Al-Qaeda captured him while he was traveling from Syria back to Baghdad. His parents worked with the US Military, making him a target. For three days he was beaten and held at gunpoint while his family listened to his suffering by phone and raised thousands of dollars in ransom to secure his release.
“I thought I’m not going to be alive again,” Al-Kadhim said. “They beat me up with the cables, I had all kinds of guns to my head.”
Rather than retreat after his release, he chose to fight back in the way he could. “After I got captured, I thought I’m going to avenge and work with the US Army,” he said. He became a military interpreter and translator, serving during combat operations from 2008 to 2011. After immigrating to the United States he continued serving through the National Guard and trained as a CDL truck driver.
When he found out he had won the truck and the grant, the moment caught him and his wife off guard in the best way. “I look at my wife’s face, and she said, we won the truck! And I said, ‘no, I won the truck!'” he recalled, laughing.
Karen Bailo with Progressive said the Keys to Progress program is designed to honor veterans like Al-Kadhim each year. “I think about his age when he went through that experience, and the fact that it didn’t let him hold him back. It shows perseverance, strength, and it’s just remarkable,” Bailo said.
Al-Kadhim, a father expecting his second daughter, said his goal is to build a business strong enough to put his daughters through college — something he was not able to do for himself — and to hire fellow veterans along the way. “To payback to another veteran and keep that culture to support one another,” he said.
Interviews courtesy of local media.
📸 Image(s) used under fair use for news reporting.
