World's Most Celebrated Syrian Refugee 'Home' in Michigan

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ROMULUS, MI – Refaai Hamo, the Syrian civil engineer with a doctorate whose haunting story of loss and hope for the future pierced the world’s heart, arrived Thursday night Metro Detroit Airport, where he said he’s grateful for the chance start a new chapter of his life in Oakland County.

Hamo told reporters at a news conference at the Marriott Courtyard Hotel that he wants to be regarded as a citizen of the United States, not as a refugee, the Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News, WXYZ-TV and other media report.

Hamo’s story unfolded in a dramatic series of posts on the Humans of New York blog. The blog quickly became an Internet sensation with tens of thousands of likes and shares, and even drew an official response from President Obama, who called Hamo “an inspiration.”

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“President Obama showed interest in my story ... my reality,” Hamo said late Thursday through a translator. “I’m very thankful for President Obama taking me into his consideration. And I have a trust that President Obama is leading this great country.”

Seven members of Hamo’s family, including his wife and a daughter, were killed two years ago when a government anti-personnel missile loaded with 116 shrapnel- and needle-filled bombs tore through his family’s compound, literally chewing victims to pieces.

Hamo’s 18-year-old son, Mohammad, and three surviving daughters — Runahi, 22; Riham, 19; and Rama, 16 — arrived with him at the airport Thursday, ready to begin their new life in southeast Michigan, where they were resettled by Lutheran Social Services of Michigan.

A fully furnished home awaits the family, but for security reasons, officials aren’t disclosing exactly where the family will be living in Oakland County. A team of financial advisers will help manage the hundreds of thousands of dollars donated to support the family, including more than $450,000 raised by actor Edward Norton through a fund-raiser known as “The Scientist.”

Money not used to resettle the Hamo family will be dispersed among other refugees whose stories have been shared on The Syrian Americans, a new series in Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York blog.

Lutheran Social Services will also help arrange for medical treatment for Hamo, who in a cruel twist of fate developed stomach cancer — he believes brought on by the stress of losing his wife, daughter and other family members.

“I Want to Be a Good Citizen”

Hamo, who told Stanton that he felt “dead” after the terror attack in Syria, said repeatedly during the news conference that he wants to be a good citizen and contribute meaningfully to society.

After his happy family was ripped apart by the attack, the family fled to Istanbul, Turkey, where Hamo was unable to find meaningful work and had “no life, no respect.”

“I would like to grab any opportunity I can to prove I am a human being and if I don’t have that opportunity, I refuse to live anywhere I don’t feel like a human,” Hamo said. “If they will only call me (a) refugee and they will treat me only as a refugee, I don’t want to be here. I’d rather go back. I want to be a good citizen here.”

He said the people of Syria are “very generous people” who want to contribute wherever they live.

“If they go to another country, they don’t want to live under special circumstances,” he said. “They will give back to the community, they will be good citizens to the countries they are living in. They will give back to the whole community here. I refuse to be called a refugee only.”

“Syria Is Bleeding”

He expressed sorrow for his homeland, saying the war “is affecting not only me as a person, it’s affecting the whole nation, the whole country.”

“The war is affecting not only me as person, it’s affecting the whole nation, the whole country,” Hamo said. “Syria is bleeding, even the nation there is bleeding. Me as a person I’ve been through a lot. I’ve been living in Syria my whole life so it’s very hard to see what’s going on in Syria.”

After the deadly terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, CA, political leaders from GOP presidential front runner Donald Trump to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson have questioned whether Syrian refugees should be allowed to resettle in the United States.

“That’s their own business,” Hamo said of those raising security questions. “Maybe they don’t understand what refugees are going through.”

Noting the nation’s long history as a beacon of hope for persecuted individuals around the world, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, said in a statement that he was proud to welcome “a new American to our shores and a new resident to our state.”

“Like so many people across the world, I was heartbroken to learn of the profound loss and tragedy Dr. Refaai Hamo and his family have endured,” Peters said. “But I was also deeply inspired by his determination — his passion to make a difference in the world. The Hamo family’s perseverance in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity embodies the spirit of our country and what it means to be American.”

He said he shares Americans’ concern about security after the terror attacks, but the answer is not “shutting our doors to refugees who are fleeing brutal violence and persecution and already undergo one of the most extensive screening processes of any people entering our country.”

» WXYZ-TV screenshot