Ahmad al-Abboud and his family arrived in Kansas City last week. On Monday, he spoke with reporters for the first time.
Al-Abboud said it was the least he can do considering the hospitality Kansas City has shown him.
While his family is safe in the United States, the scars - both physical and emotional - remain.
A bomb destroyed al-Abboud’s home in Syria. The family of seven fled the country, and after living at a Jordanian refugee camp for three years, they escaped and arrived in Kansas City.
Al-Abboud said his dream is to live like everybody else - in peace and dignity. Al-Abboud said he wants to educate his kids in the best way possible, and he feels like it is here that he will be able to achieve that.
The al-Abbouds are the first of 10,000 Syrian refugees to come to the United States under President Barack Obama’s surge program.
Della Lamb, an organization in Kansas City, said it will do everything it can to make sure the al-Abboud family succeeds.
In all, 85,000 refugees from around the world will come to the United States between now and Sept. 30.
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Terra Hall can be reached at terra.hall@kshb.com.
