High School Junior Farris Hassan, 16, returned home safely to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, from his most excellent adventure to see Iraq up close and personal.
The 16-year-old told reporters and his family that he skipped out of school in December in order to get a "first-hand" report on the elections in Iraq for an article for his journalism class. "I thought I'd go the extra mile for that, or rather, a few thousand miles," he said in an interview.
The newest American celebrity arrived at Miami International Airport last night to a mass of journalists and photographers. His 23-year-old brother, Hayder Hassan, told reporters, "I'm furious with him. He knows the ass whuppin' he's going to get."
Farris Hassan's Day Off all began when he got the idea to try some news reporting as suggested by his journalism teacher. So, on December 11th, Farris took off and bought a $900 plane ticket to Kuwait by way of Lebanon. I don't think that's what the teacher had in mind.
Farris's dad, a doctor who has lived in the U.S. for 35 years, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that he was worried when his son left without telling him. "I said to myself, 'You have no idea what you're getting yourself into.' For $100, they kidnap people. The suicide bombers, they look for foreigners. He's young, with an American passport and doesn't speak a word of Arabic."
Farris was able to secure an entry visa for Iraq because both of his parents were born there. He took his U.S. passport and $1,800 in cash, but didn't tell his family where he was until he arrived in Kuwait and sent them an e-mail.
His excellent adventure turned out to be an ordeal at times. He was dumped at the Iraq-Kuwait border by a taxi driver who left him alone in the middle of the desert. Not to mention that the Kuwaiti driver almost punched him in the face when he balked at the $100 fare. Then Farris drew a crowd at a Baghdad food stand when he pulled out his Arabic phrase book to order food.
When he decided he'd had enough, Farris walked into the Associated Press office in Baghdad where the workers there called U.S. Embassy officials to come and get him.
Dr. Hassan told the Sun-Sentinel that he gave his son the choice of coming home or going to Beirut for a week to stay with family friends, and then head to Baghdad once the border opened and private security could be arranged. "I felt it would leave a scar, disappointing him in his young life. I learned long ago that if you say no, they stick to the point and insist on doing it. Nothing fazed him."
Well, Farris, here's hoping you get an "A" in your Journalism class. And at least $250,000 when Hollywood comes knocking, wanting the rights to make your three-week oddyssey into a movie ...
