Boy Visits Iraq

[Maleficent13]

I can't believe there's not been a thread about this yet (and if there has, I can't find it, sorry).

This is a 16 yr old kid who left school one day a couple weeks ago and ran away to Iraq. He wanted to practice "immersion journalism".

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10650661/

I have several opinions, but since almost all of them include the words "stupid" "ridiculous" and "needs to be smacked upside the head", I probably better not express them.

 

[Sparx]

ITA. "smacked upside the head" will solve alot of this. I think it is safe to say that I was his mother that kid would wish he'd stayed in iraq by the time he got back to me.

 

[GeorgeG]

I'm wondering how a 16 year old kid can manage to travel to such a place. What's wrong with the parents? Even if they didn't know where he was going, that's wrong!

Do you suppose he'll enlist in a few years?

 

[Geoff_M]

I think that kid watched a certain South Park episode!

 

[OhMari]

I'm just surprised no one questioned him, maybe they did, we just didn't hear the whole story yet. He does look older than 16, plus he is over 6 ft tall.

 

[mickeyboat]

I am thinking the same thing, what is wrong with this kid, and what is wrong with his parents?

At 16, and with his background, this kid should have known how dangerous and stupid it was to try this stunt! Heck, my 6 year old would know.

How did the parents not know he was going? He had to get a passport, make travel arrangements, and actually get out of the country. It looks like they were aware that he was thinking about it, they should have monitored his communications and actions close enough to know he was actually going to do it. (You can throw this back in my face 10 years from now when I post about something stupid my kids did ).

Why are we just hearing about this now if he left on December 11th? I guess I can see that the parents wouldn't want to broadcast that there was a teen American alone in Iraq for safety reasons, but what effort did the parents make to get him to safety? My kids' friends would have been tied to a tree outside my house until they told me where he was! Then I think I would have been on the first plane to find him. It sounds to me like the parents are strangely proud of their son, and are using this opportunity to get some media attention for their budding journalist.

After the fact, why is this such a big story?

Boy, I am pessimistic today!

Denae

 

[minkydog]

I read that his flight alone cost $900, then taxis were over $250. Where does a 16yo get that kind of money His parents immigrated from Iraq about 35yrs ago.They are a doctor and a lawyer, i think. I guess he was getting in touch with his roots. He's just extremely lucky he didn't get his head lopped off.

 

[Maleficent13]

I'm with everything you said, mickeyboat.

 

[disneylizzy]

That kid is lucky he made it out alive. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

 

[dcentity2000]

Berk. Flagrant disregard for his safety.



Rich::

 

[simba928]

I have seen many idiots (I am in high school, so I see 'em every day), but he is the king of idiots. He is one lucky idiot, though.

 

[DawnCt1]

I have a ton of questions for his parents; Here are three for starters.

1. How did he get access to so much money and how did they not know he was taking it out of the bank?

2. Why did they have friends in Lebanon take him in and then why was he allowed to continue on with his trip to Bagdhad? He had been rescued "once" why did he need to be rescued twice.

3. When did they realize he was missing?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

ITA. "smacked upside the head" will solve alot of this. I think it is safe to say that I was his mother that kid would wish he'd stayed in iraq by the time he got back to me.

In an interview, she actually said that when she understood why he did it, she was kind of proud of him.

Not my first thought. I'd get killed for leaving city limits without permission--forget travelling overseas to a war zone!

 

[mrFDNY]

I have a ton of questions for his parents; Here are three for starters.

1. How did he get access to so much money and how did they not know he was taking it out of the bank?

Using money his parents had given him, he bought a $900 plane ticket and took off from school a week before Christmas vacation started, skipping classes and leaving the country on Dec. 11.


WOW,the most my parents ever gave me at 16,was a crisp $20

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I'm just surprised no one questioned him, maybe they did, we just didn't hear the whole story yet. He does look older than 16, plus he is over 6 ft tall.

From what little I saw of the news story--when he was in a certain zone....and journalists caught wind of this--they called the embassy.

I do believe in general that a 16yo can travel unaccompanied--so depending on what his travel plans were--no real red flags (like his plane ticket said some other country other than Iraq).

 

[Sparx]

From what little I saw of the news story--when he was in a certain zone....and journalists caught wind of this--they called the embassy.

I do believe in general that a 16yo can travel unaccompanied--so depending on what his travel plans were--no real red flags (like his plane ticket said some other country other than Iraq).

He went to the AP in the green zone adn expected them to just let him hang around. (they called the embassy as soon as they could) They said "depending on what street you walk down here, you could be flauged, praised, killed, or held in a van by men in robes." he is a new kind of lucky and stupid.

 

[luvthatduke]

Virtually every military person involved has stated
they couldn't believe he made it "in" alive.
Even the AP guys he first approached said
they couldn't believe what they were seeing.

His mother said that she would no longer
be leaving him alone at home,
as "he showed a lack of judgement."

Ummm... Ya THINK??

And oh, yeah - she's taking away his passport.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

r
be leaving him alone at home,
as "he showed a lack of judgement."

Ummm... Ya THINK??

And oh, yeah - she's taking away his passport.

That's good to know. I am surprised that she even remotely considered being proud of him though.

 

[barkley]

the school did'nt expell him? gee, i guess being truant and likely breaking international travel law (and/or forging documents) is'nt a major issue for them.

my understanding of u.s. immigration law is that any minor who leaves the u.s. must be in the company or their custodial parent(s) or legal guardian(s) (and if only one of two is present notarized permission from the other custodial parent or guardian is required for travel). there may be provisions for 16 year olds to travel alone but i would bet it requires HEAVY DUTY LEGAL DOCUMENTATION. so either mommy and daddy were in on it or this kid did some major document fraud (and if that's the case i hope he finishes his high school classes behind bars).

strikes me as a case of parents "helping" jr. get something that sets him apart on those college and career applications wonder if the parents (if proven to have assisted in this stupidity) could be billed for all of the time and energy all the applicable agencies redirected from those truly in need.
(they could just pay it out of the dateline, primetime live...and book deals they probably had negotiatied before he ever returned to u.s. soil).

 

[luvthatduke]

Some tidbits:

Hassan (the boy) spoke to The Associated Press early Friday, several hours before the embassy announcement, and he was still under the impression that he would be following his personal travel itinerary, which had him leaving the country by himself on Sunday.

He hadn't even been aware that the story of his perilous travels was published around the world — or that his mother was being
interviewed on television.

"I don't have any Internet access here in the Green Zone,
so I have no idea what's going on," he said.

A military officer accompanying him, who did not identify himself, said it was his task to get Hassan "safe and sound to the United States."

He doesn't even have a clue that there's a reason
for his personal, military escort??

The teenager was able to secure an entry visa because both of his parents were born in Iraq, though they've been in the United States for more than three decades...

...He took his U.S. passport along with $1,800 in cash. He said the money came from a sum of $10,000 his mother had given him after he gave her some stock tips that earned a 25 percent return.

When school officials learned of Hassan's trip, they threatened to expel him, but Atiya and Hassan's father, Redha Hassan, a physician, persuaded officials to allow him to remain, she said. It was not immediately clear why they wanted to expel him.

And this quote gave me pause:

Julie Schiedegger, who teaches English at Pine Crest, said Friday that she learned Hassan was headed to Iraq about two weeks ago when she overheard some students talking about it...