You've probably already heard about the American teenager who travelled to Iraq without his parents' knowledge. His name is Farris Hassan and he is a 16-year-old from Fort Lauderdale. Here is an excerpt from an essay he wrote explaining why he did it:
There is a struggle in Iraq between good and evil, between those
striving for freedom and liberty and those striving for death and
destruction. You are aware of the heinous acts of the terrorists: Women
and children massacred, innocent aid workers decapitated,
indiscriminate murder. You are also aware of the heroic aspirations of
the Iraqi people: liberty, democracy, security, normality. Those
terrorists are not human but pure evil. For their goals to be thwarted,
decent individuals must answer justice's call for help ... So I will.
According to his mom, as reported by the AP:
her son does not speak Arabic and
has no experience in war zones, but he wanted to ask the journalists
who cover Iraqis about life there.
"He is very driven and he is very patriotic. He believes in democracy," she said.
Atiya said her son is studious, works on the school newspaper and is on
the debate team. He is a member of a Republican Party club at school.
Meanwhile, he spends his time reading, rather than socializing, his
mother said.
"He thinks girls require too much time and he has more important things to do. He loves history," Atiya said.
For all this, apparently his school wanted to expel him.