BOISE – The Grove Plaza in downtown Boise looked a little different Saturday: Food and retail vendors from more than half the continents were there, adults and children from all over the world danced together and international flags were flown high for all to see.

And shortly after 11 a.m., on the stage in the middle of the square, ten former refugees took the oath of allegiance to become citizens of the United States of America.

It was a joyous and memorable day for all in attendance, but especially for the 10 new Americans on stage, who were introduced one by one and received with cheers and applause from the audience. The naturalization ceremony was the centerpiece of Saturday's World Refugee Day celebrations, held each year by the Idaho Office for Refugees to mark World Refugee Day. The United Nations created World Refugee Day to “honor refugees around the world,” and since its inception in 2001, it has been observed each year on June 20, according to the UN refugee agency's website.

The new U.S. citizens arrived Saturday from Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Thailand and Ukraine. They were once 10 of nearly 16,000 refugees who had settled in Idaho over the past 24 years. On Saturday, they lost that status.

“By doing this, we are giving them back their identity, who they are,” says Yasmin Aguilar, who sought refuge from Afghanistan and lived as a refugee in the Czech Republic and Pakistan before coming to Idaho.

Aguilar, who became a U.S. citizen in 2005, is now deputy director of the Agency for New Americans, a refugee resettlement agency in Boise. She spoke about the challenges refugees face — forced absence from funerals and family emergencies; achieving respect, dignity and humanity; and breaking free from the label of “perpetual refugees,” to name a few.

Refugees often face oppression or danger in their home countries, including ethnic or religious ostracism or exile. Aguilar was kidnapped twice by the Taliban, she said.

“That’s why we’re here: to reclaim our lives and our freedom and to be who we are,” Aguilar said.

Before being sworn in as Americans on Saturday, the guests of honor held small banners decorated with stars and waited anxiously for their hard-won confirmation as U.S. citizens. Many of them wore suits, even though temperatures were quickly approaching 90 degrees.

It's an experience Saeed Alazzawi looks back on fondly – “it's like my new birthday,” he said. He became a citizen in 2022, five years after coming to Idaho from Iraq. Alazzawi worked as a civil engineer at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq and was targeted by militias and ISIS, he said.

Today, he is a safety manager at JUMP in downtown Boise and is working on his engineering degree at Boise State University. He is married and has three children.

“It's a great community, a great place for the family to live,” Alazzawi said. “It's peaceful. And the people are so dedicated, they help me and my children at school.”

“I made it and I love it here.”

After pledging their allegiance to their new homeland, the 10 new U.S. citizens dispersed to take photos, hug supporters, and sample authentic food from the country they loved. One of them even lost his Idaho ID in the excitement.

They wanted to start a life as Idahoans, as Americans – or, as Alazzawi put it, “a chance at a better life.”