off-the-wall

Florida Teen Returns Safely from Baghdad

By Darla Sitton
CBN News Producer

CBN.com – (CBN News) – The Iraq-American teen who went to Iraq by himself is back home now.

Farris Hassan said he just wanted to see what it was like to live in a war zone. But now that his family knows he is safe, they say he has a lot of explaining to do.

The travel-weary Florida boy was greeted with hugs and smiles at the airport. Shatha Atiya, Hassan's mother, said, "I'm really delighted. I'm very happy, but I'm very shaky and nervous."

The teen says that a journalism class inspired him to make the trip just before Christmas. He wanted to get to Baghdad in time for the parliamentary elections, and get a first-hand look at his parent's homeland.

So Hassan took a personal stash of savings and took off without telling his parents. They were frantic when they found out.

"He's always been very confident and very sure of himself,” Atiya said, “and has done a lot of things, yeah; probably more independent than a normal child."

Initially, Hassan was denied entry to Iraq because the borders were closed ahead of the election.

He then re-routed his trip through Beirut and managed to catch a flight to Baghdad. There, he met up with Associated Press reporters who notified the U.S. Embassy, and the young adventurer was sent home to face the consequences.

Patrick Quinn of Associated Press Baghdad declared in amazement, "A 16-year-old American high school student who doesn't speak any Arabic -- it is unbelievable that nothing happened to him. It really is."

Atiya said he also has some explaining to do at school over his unexcused absences. She said she plans to take over his bank account and confiscate his passport.

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