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January 1 | Free the Boy! Free the Boy! NOT ELIAN GONZALEZ. But yes, a story related to Florida. First you need a little backstory, which I'm going to keep short and get back to horoscopes. There's news these days about Farris Hassan, an American-born Iraqi youth from Ft. Lauderdale, who has caused a fuss by going back to the old country. Here is the lead to an article from the Miami Herald (where "The Far Side" comic once originated), which article I'll also link: Farris Hassan's death-defying adventure to Iraq came to a happy ending Friday, as the 16-year-old runaway began the long journey home to Fort Lauderdale -- his friends and family grateful that he made it out alive. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/13520458.htm Now, this story isn't getting a lot of press, but if you ask me, it's deserves attention. Farris, age 16, himself adds up to something that makes perfect sense. He is the independent-thinking type, he had some money his mother had given him (the family is pretty well off), he wanted to go, his father apparently makes a lot of unannounced trips to Iraq, he is Iraqi, his curiosity has not been completely trampled out of existence by the educational system, and, most notably, the country of his heritage is being bombed to the brink of nonexistence in an American-led occupation. The occupation, in turn, is fueling a civil war. The article, which begins insultingly enough by calling Farris a "runaway" rather than, for example, a traveler, suggests he will face disciplinary action in school (rather than get extra credit), be spanked by his brother (rather than be taken out to dinner to hear the stories), grounded by his mother (who somewhat sheepishly said on BBC that she would cut off his funds and take his passport) and so on. Other papers are doing the "good kid" kind of features, as if he had done something wrong. I have read that there are 17-year-olds fighting in Iraq (for the Americans), and plenty of 18 year olds. A lot of these kids are being conned to join the military while they're high school sophomores. This is the real news. Farris needs our support. His action was sincere and brave: entering the war zone and seeing for himself what is going on; interviewing people in Iraq and Kuwait; and putting his feet on the ground. That's more than I can say for a lot of people who have only opinions. It's a lot more than I can say for myself; I have no attraction at all to Iraq (and plenty of opinions). How he got to Iraq has some mystery involved. Depending on the airline, there are regulations for the terms under which people under 18 years of age can travel. His airline may have considered him a "youth passenger" rather than an "unaccompanied minor," and therefore he would not have needed consent of an adult to fly. He was going around the time of the holidays. He is a boy, not a girl; doubtless, a girl would have been stopped. It sort of adds up, but still, in the Post 9-11 World, it's pretty interesting that a 16-year-old can queue up at the airline terminal, peel off some hundred dollar bills, and wind up in the the Green Zone. But, he did it, casting yet another vote for reality. If anybody knows Farris personally, would you please put him in touch with me? | ||||||
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