Immigrants made homeless by apartment fire

CLARKSTON - About 60 immigrants, many of them refugees from strife-filled lands, have been made homeless by a fire that destroyed a metro Atlanta apartment building. <br> <br> ``My life is trouble back home with the fighting. I came here to start a new life,&#39;&#39; said Ahmed Abdi, who moved to Clarkston six years ago to escape his native Somalia. <br> <br> Firefighters were called to the 16-unit building at Indian Valley Apartments shortly after 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Within 10 minutes, the fire had spread through the roof, shooting flames 40 feet in the air. More than 40 firefighters battled the blaze for two hours. <br> <br> The building was destroyed, but no one was hurt. Many of the residents in the 12-building complex don&#39;t speak English. Rescuers relied on English-speaking children to translate. <br> <br> Witnesses told authorities they thought the fire started in the kitchen of a second-floor apartment. <br> <br> Abdi and many of the other 60 or so immigrants and refugees who escaped the blaze said it only renewed their sense of resolve. <br> <br> ``These people have been through so much hardship, but this is still better than war,&#39;&#39; said Jayne Nahayama, one of a half-dozen Red Cross volunteers on hand Tuesday night to assist the 14 displaced families. <br> <br> Kawa Talabani said his family would move on. ``I came to this country to have peace,&#39;&#39; said the Iraqi refugee. ``This won&#39;t stop that from happening. No, I don&#39;t know what we&#39;re going to do tonight or tomorrow, but we will find peace somehow.&#39;&#39;