Omar (center) sits with his mother and brother in their apartment in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Eli Meir Kaplan

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“This Is My True Home”

Several years ago, Omar Hussin and his family escaped a war zone. Now they’re building a new life in the United States.

April 30, 2018
By Tricia Culligan

This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared in the April 30, 2018, issue of Scholastic News Edition 5/6. 

This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared in the April 30, 2018, issue of Scholastic News Edition 5/6.

JIM MCMAHON/MAPMAN®

In October 2016, Omar Hussin was the new kid in town in Silver Spring, Maryland. Aside from his family, the 11-year-old didn’t know anyone. Plus, he didn’t speak or understand English. Omar was worried about going to a new school where he had no friends.

But Omar had already faced much bigger challenges. Three years earlier, he and his family had escaped a civil war in their home country of Syria. The Hussins are among the more than 5 million refugees who have fled from Syria since the war started in 2011. Like most refugees, Omar was uncertain about what his future would hold. But he had only one thought when he arrived in the United States. 

“I kept thinking, ‘I’m safe, I’m finally safe,’” he remembers. 

It was October 2016. Omar Hussin was the new kid in town in Silver Spring, Maryland. Aside from his family, the 11-year-old didn’t know anyone. Plus, he didn’t speak or understand English. Omar was worried. He would be going to a new school where he had no friends.

But Omar had already faced much bigger challenges. He and his family are from Syria. Three years earlier, he and his family had escaped a civil war there. The Hussins are refugees. They are among the more than 5 million people who have left Syria since the war started in 2011. Like most refugees, Omar was uncertain about what his future would hold. But he had only one thought when he arrived in the United States.

“I kept thinking, ‘I’m safe, I’m finally safe,’” he remembers.

Living in Fear

Omar was born in Daraa, Syria, in 2005. His earliest memories are of a peaceful life with his parents and older brother and sister. But life in Daraa changed forever in March 2011.

Earlier that year, Syrians had begun holding protests to call for more freedoms from the nation’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad. On March 18, Syrian police opened fire on a crowd of protesters in Daraa, killing several people. The protests soon grew larger and spread to other cities. Assad’s security forces continued to use violence to try to silence the protesters. Thousands of soldiers quit the Syrian army and joined up with groups of protesters. Together, these rebels began fighting Assad’s forces for control of the country. 

Many Syrians, including the Hussins, were caught in the middle of the fighting. Omar remembers the day he was nearly shot while playing in a schoolyard.

“There was a battle going on in the street,” he says. “Bullets came and killed a boy from my school. We carried him home to his parents.” (Omar spoke through an interpreter in his native language, Arabic.)

The Hussins stayed in Daraa for more than two years after the fighting began. But after the house next to theirs was bombed, Omar’s father knew it was time to leave the only home the family had ever known. In May 2013, the Hussins each packed a bag and boarded a bus to Jordan, Syria’s neighbor to the south. 

Omar was born in Daraa, Syria, in 2005. He lived there with his parents and older brother and sister. His earliest memories are of a peaceful life in the city. But life in Daraa changed forever in March 2011.

Earlier that year, Syrians had begun holding protests. They wanted more freedoms from the nation’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad. On March 18, Syrian police opened fire on a crowd of protesters in Daraa. They killed several people. The protests soon grew larger. They also spread to other cities. Assad’s security forces continued to use violence against the protesters. Thousands of soldiers quit the Syrian army. They joined up with groups of protesters. Together, these rebels began fighting Assad’s forces for control of the country.

Many Syrians were caught in the middle of the fighting. That included the Hussins. Omar remembers the day he was nearly shot while playing in a schoolyard.

“There was a battle going on in the street,” he says. “Bullets came and killed a boy from my school. We carried him home to his parents.” (Omar spoke through an interpreter in his native language, Arabic.)

The Hussins stayed in Daraa for more than two years after the fighting began. But then the house next to theirs was bombed. Omar’s father knew it was time to leave the only home the family had ever known. In May 2013, the Hussins each packed a bag. They boarded a bus to Jordan, Syria’s neighbor to the south. 

MOHAMAD ABAZEED/AFP/Getty Images

Smoke rises from buildings in Daraa after a bombing in May 2017. More than 400,000 people have been killed during the war so far.

A Temporary Home

The family’s first stop in Jordan was a huge refugee camp called Zaatari. Soon they moved to an apartment near Amman, Jordan’s capital.  

Though his family was safe, Omar wasn’t happy in Jordan because the local kids treated him like an outsider. 

“Kids would attack me and tell me to go back home where I came from,” recalls Omar.

Shortly after the family arrived in Jordan, an international aid agency asked Omar’s father if he wanted to apply for a permit to live in the U.S. He jumped at the opportunity, though he knew that the process wouldn’t be easy. It can take more than two years and includes several rounds of security checks, medical tests, and interviews with U.S. officials. Even then, there’s no guarantee of being accepted. The U.S. government wants to be certain that refugees won’t pose a threat to Americans.

After a long wait, the Hussins finally got word that they had been approved to live in America. Omar would once again be moving to a new country.

The family’s first stop in Jordan was a huge refugee camp called Zaatari. Soon they moved to an apartment near Amman, Jordan’s capital. 

Omar’s family was safe. But he wasn’t happy in Jordan because the local kids treated him like an outsider.

“Kids would attack me and tell me to go back home where I came from,” recalls Omar.

Shortly after the family arrived in Jordan, workers from an international aid agency approached Omar’s father. They asked if he wanted to apply for a permit to live in the U.S. He jumped at the opportunity. But he knew that the process wouldn’t be easy. The process can take more than two years. It includes several rounds of security checks, medical tests, and interviews with U.S. officials. Even then, there’s no guarantee of being accepted. The U.S. government wants to be certain that refugees won’t pose a threat to Americans.

After a long wait, the Hussins finally got the news they had hoped for. They had been approved to live in America. Omar would once again be moving to a new country.

Life in America

Eli Meir Kaplan

Omar plays soccer with one of his new friends.

Omar and his family arrived in Washington, D.C., in October 2016. An organization called the International Rescue Committee helped them settle into their new home in Silver Spring. The group also helped enroll Omar and his siblings in school and helped his father find a job.

Moving to the U.S. was a big adjustment for Omar. Because he didn’t speak English, it was hard at first to make friends and to understand his teachers in school. 

But Omar started taking English language lessons. He also joined the local soccer team. He soon found that the kids in Silver Spring were more welcoming than those in Jordan. 

“During recess, some random students came up and said hello,” he says. “I felt so happy that I finally had friends.”

Today, Omar is a teenager. His English is improving, and he hopes to do well enough in school to one day become a pilot. 

He feels lucky to have arrived in America when he did. In 2016, the U.S. admitted more than 95,000 refugees from dozens of countries. But the U.S. government has since greatly reduced the number of refugees it allows to enter the country each year. Still, Omar hopes other Syrian refugees will get the same chance he did.

“America is a land built by immigrants and gives people a second opportunity,” he says. “I consider this my true home.”

Omar and his family arrived in Washington, D.C., in October 2016. An organization called the International Rescue Committee helped them settle into their new home in Silver Spring. The group also helped enroll Omar and his siblings in school. And the group helped Omar’s father find a job.

Moving to the U.S. was a big adjustment for Omar. He didn’t speak English. That made it hard for him to make friends at first and to understand his teachers in school.

But Omar started taking English language lessons. He also joined the local soccer team. He soon found that the kids in Silver Spring were more welcoming than those in Jordan.

“During recess, some random students came up and said hello,” he says. “I felt so happy that I finally had friends.”

Today, Omar is a teenager. His English is improving. He hopes to do well enough in school to one day become a pilot.

He feels lucky to have arrived in America when he did. In 2016, the U.S. admitted more than 95,000 refugees from dozens of countries. But the U.S. government has since greatly reduced the number of refugees it allows to enter the country each year. Still, Omar hopes other Syrian refugees will get the same chance he did.

“America is a land built by immigrants and gives people a second opportunity,” he says. “I consider this my true home.”

1. Why are the Hussins considered refugees?

2. How does Omar Hussin’s description of life in Daraa, Syria, contribute to your understanding of the article?

3. What steps does the U.S. government take to make sure refugees entering the country don’t pose a threat to Americans?

4. What does the photo at the bottom of page 5 show? What details about Syria does it illustrate?

1. Why are the Hussins considered refugees?

2. How does Omar Hussin’s description of life in Daraa, Syria, contribute to your understanding of the article?

3. What steps does the U.S. government take to make sure refugees entering the country don’t pose a threat to Americans?

4. What does the photo at the bottom of page 5 show? What details about Syria does it illustrate?

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