Florida Teen Skips School, Sneaks To Iraq

Justin · Dec 30, 2005

16-year-old survives his experiment in 'immersion journalism'

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Maybe it was the time the taxi dumped him at the Iraq-Kuwait border, leaving him alone in the middle of the desert. Or when he drew a crowd at a Baghdad food stand after using an Arabic phrase book to order. Or the moment a Kuwaiti cab driver almost punched him in the face when he balked at the $100 fare.

But at some point, Farris Hassan, a 16-year-old from Florida, realized that traveling to Iraq by himself was not the safest thing he could have done with his Christmas vacation.

And he didn't even tell his parents.

Hassan's dangerous adventure winds down with the 101st Airborne delivering the Fort Lauderdale teen to the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, which had been on the lookout for him and promises to see him back to the United States this weekend.

It begins with a high school class on "immersion journalism" and one overly eager -- or naively idealistic -- student who's lucky to be alive after going way beyond what any teacher would ask.

As a junior this year at a Pine Crest School, a prep academy of about 700 students in Fort Lauderdale, Hassan studied writers like John McPhee in the book "The New Journalism," an introduction to immersion journalism -- a writer who lives the life of his subject in order to better understand it.

Diving headfirst into an assignment, Hassan, whose parents were born in Iraq but have lived in the United States for about 35 years, hung out at a local mosque. The teen, who says he has no religious affiliation, added that he even spent an entire night until 6 a.m. talking politics with a group of Muslim men, a level of "immersion" his teacher characterized as dangerous and irresponsible.

The next trimester his class was assigned to choose an international topic and write editorials about it, Hassan said. He chose the Iraq war and decided to practice immersion journalism there, too, though he knows his school in no way endorses his travels.

"I thought I'd go the extra mile for that, or rather, a few thousand miles," he told The Associated Press.
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Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/12/29/teen.iraq.ap.ap/index.html

Heavy is the Louis · Dec 30, 2005

As wrong and as dangerous as that is, it's interesting that he would actually do that.

User Name · Dec 30, 2005

Farris Hassan, proof that Albert Einstein still walks among us. I admire his amibition, but still, that was a really dumb move.

Evan™ · Dec 30, 2005

he was just too over enthusiastic if anything...

Linja · Dec 30, 2005

Cameron said:

I admire his amibition, but still, that was a really dumb move.
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Got to agree with that. He's lucky he returned home in one piece. I guess he learned a bit about culture and opinions there.

Neil · Dec 30, 2005

You know, I was about to call him dumb, and if he did get shot or something, I would have...

But that boy's inspiring...

越南 · Dec 30, 2005

wow , that kid has balls

xmclevelandx · Dec 31, 2005

Now that's a kid who loves what hes doing.

JJ · Jan 2, 2006

what 越南 said - that kid does have balls - and big ones at that!

FreeYourMind · Jan 2, 2006

That'll make a damn intresting/inspiring story for him to tell to his grandchildren when he's old.

krylonblu · Jan 5, 2006

ummm...

this is the real article right here

Taken from slantmouth.com
There is nothing more fearsome in this world than a journalist with a backbone. When a journalist with any level of fortitude actually does his job, it is necessary to raise him above the masses and display him as a beacon of light, perhaps feature him on a popular television news magazine.

Farris Hassan, 16 (pictured left), is one of these individuals. He entered the war zone in Iraq, without the knowledge of his parents, so that he could help the people. Armed with a prep school class in immersive journalism and a notebook, Hassan meticulously documented his few days in Baghdad. Slantmouth was able to obtain exclusive excerpts from his notebook.

Page 47
“I have finally arrived in Baghdad.”

“I have traveled thousands of miles so that I may fight injustice and experience the distress of my fellow man struggling in Iraq. I want to lend my soft, supple hands to rebuild this country with justice and democracy at its foundation.”

“Though I have no actual skills, like my father who is a doctor, or pretty much anyone else who has come to Iraq to help, I am confident I can make up for it with empathy and sheer enthusiasm.”

Page 49
“I feel guilty drinking purified bottled water. I feel guilty that I do not have to live in fear of contracting near-fatal diseases every time I turn on the faucet. I want the same hardships ordinary Iraqis face everyday. I will ask the next Iraqi I see for their finest tap water, though I now realize I do not speak their language.”

“This is a contingency I did not plan for.”

Page 55
“As I journeyed through the streets of Baghdad searching for food I saw an elderly gentleman slowly walking by. He looked rather pale and thin. I suspect that he was sick. My father is a doctor and, while I have not visited him much at work, I have scoured through many of his medical journals. They are filled with pictures of sick and diseased people. Therefore, I have faith in my ability to judge if he was ill or not. I am certain I have seen a picture that matched his symptoms.“

“Many of the poor residents of Baghdad, like the old man, do not have access to basic medicines. Does this valiant spirit’s need for liberty mean that he cannot cure his devastating aliments? Is this the price Iraqis must pay for desiring democracy? “

“If I were one of the many students at my prep school who take Prozac I would deprive myself of it. The ensuing depression would be its own reward because I would be able to better empathize with the Iraqi people.”

Page 56
“I stopped at a food stand and attempted to get a menu. I flipped through my book of Arab phrases that I purchased from Amazon.com. Perhaps it was my Nike sneakers or the fact that I was holding up the line, but people were looking at me strangely. As I looked over at one man, he licked his lips. I think he was about to eat a falafel.”

“Regardless, it is the first time I have feared for my life while in Baghdad. I have no idea which of the customers were terrorists striving for death and which were champions of democracy. I have not seen any pictures in Dad’s medical journals that would help me see the difference.”

Page 57
“I just reread the essay I sent to my prep school before I arrived in Iraq. I can’t believe I wrote, ‘There are thousands of people there that desperately want my head’. The major news outlets have a tendency to take things out of context. If Bill O’Reilly gets his hands on this I could have a scandal on my hands.”

Page 65
“My stomach is in incredible pain. Is this the pain of being an Iraqi fighting for freedom and democracy? I would like to think so, but I suspect that it may have been the water I drank earlier. I was not able to converse with any Iraqis, out of fear that they would kidnap me and cut off my head, but I saw an open pipe on the street. It was rather rusty but I put my mouth to it anyway. I was and still am desperate to feel the pain of the Iraqi people.”

“I have spent a majority of the last few hours in the bathroom. This is not the outcome I was hoping for, but I suppose it should have been expected.”

Page 69
“I have spent the last day and a half in my hotel room. I want to interact with the people of this great nation but I am afraid they may decapitate me. To maintain some level of interaction I look out my window from time to time. I occasionally even make eye contact with a genuine Iraqi.”

“I wish that the only Iraqi people in my hotel were not the staff. My hotel seems to only have other Americans staying in it and, since I cannot realistically get very far from my bathroom, they are my only human interaction.”

“While I enjoy their company I did not come this far to empathize with the everyday hardships of Americans.”

Page 73
“The constant fear and trips to the bathroom have become too much for me to bear. I do not know how the Iraqi people suffer through this. I have never been more miserable as the time I have spent in this hotel room. I am near my breaking point and now I think I understand what it truly is to be an Iraqi.”

“Also, I think the maid is trying to kidnap me…”

Page 78
“I went to the AP press offices. It was the only place I could think to go where no one wanted to videotape my head being detached from my neck. They seemed shocked that I was able to get inside of Baghdad or that I would even want to be here. Do they not understand my need to make a difference?”

“I offered to work with them but they declined. I was disappointed. Fortunately, they had really good French fries.”

“While I was still there, the people at the AP called the military to inform them of my presence as well as my mission to spread liberty and democracy. I had to heavily insist that they tell them my mission, but hopefully this will signal a new opportunity for me to help the people of Iraq with the assistance of the fine men and women of the United States military. I am only one man, yet with the support of the military, I can mitigate the suffering of so many ordinary Iraqis.”

Page 80
“The military did end up coming to aid me, but apparently there was some kind of miscommunication. They have taken me into custody and are shipping me back to Fort Lauderdale. Do these people not understand what is going on? I am here to help and I absolutely cannot go back without helping some more Iraqis, aside from the maid who I tipped well so that she would not kidnap me.”

“It looks like I will be leaving, my mission unfulfilled. I vow that I will return. On my departure I will deprive myself of the medicine that would calm my upset stomach to better empathize with the Iraqi people, even with the prospect of an eighteen-hour flight ahead of me. I want to live my days so that my nights are not full of regrets.”

Slantmouth salutes you, Emissary of Justice. May you never do anything you will one day regret.
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Chaos · Jan 10, 2006

I think what this kid did was really brave. I wonder what his parents did when he got home.

Holiday · Jan 10, 2006

This kid was just bored and ritch is all. I don't think he was brave. He was just showing off and thought he would get some spotlight time...which he did. He didn't even get in trouble or anything. How many parents dont' realize that their kid has been missing or a $45,000 charge has been put on the bank account or something. This was NOT a cheap excursion(sp?). He took a taxie over 100mi, not to mention like 3 plane trips just to get to where he took the taxie from.

To me, it just looks like he was showing off. That's it.

LProx4life · Jan 11, 2006

Holiday said:

This kid was just bored and ritch is all. I don't think he was brave. He was just showing off and thought he would get some spotlight time...which he did. He didn't even get in trouble or anything. How many parents dont' realize that their kid has been missing or a $45,000 charge has been put on the bank account or something. This was NOT a cheap excursion(sp?). He took a taxie over 100mi, not to mention like 3 plane trips just to get to where he took the taxie from.

To me, it just looks like he was showing off. That's it.
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True it could be that or it can be another reason yet i think its awkward.

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Florida Teen Skips School, Sneaks To Iraq

Justin See you there

Heavy is the Louis No really, we are so back. LPA Team

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Evan™ HI! I'm Randy, I'm a Bandicoot Über Member

Linja Good. Be magnanimous. Über Member

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Florida Teen Skips School, Sneaks To Iraq

Justin See you there

Heavy is the Louis No really, we are so back. LPA Team

User Name Angry Marines. Always angry, all the time. >:C LPA Super Member

Evan™ HI! I'm Randy, I'm a Bandicoot Über Member

Linja Good. Be magnanimous. Über Member

Neil Super Duper Member LPA Super Member

越南 Well-Known Member

xmclevelandx Well-Known Member

JJ [i cant spoll preply]: LPA Super VIP

FreeYourMind Well-Known Member

krylonblu Member

Chaos Well-Known Member

Holiday Married and on a life-long adventure! LPA Super VIP

LProx4life Well-Known Member

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