Teen to share Iraq-trip details

2006-01-03 11:06

Fort Lauderdale - Faced with his first school day since his solo trip to Iraq, American teen Farris Hassan kept a low profile, but promised to share more details about his odyssey after getting some rest.

"I'm really tired," the 16-year-old told reporters outside his father's condominium building. "I'm glad to be back."

Farris, who was inspired by a high-school journalism class to see Iraq up close, said he would hold a news conference sometime on Tuesday.

He was scheduled to return to classes at Pine Crest School on Tuesday.

Farris's mother, Shatha Atiya, said the school had no plans to suspend her son, but did want to discuss his decision to skip classes when he began his travels on December 11.

Atiya also said there would be "consequences" for not telling his family that he was going to a dangerous war zone.

"I'm just extremely happy he's home safely," she said.

Took passport and cash

Farris returned home on Sunday night to a throng of reporters and camera crews, then had a steak dinner with his father, said his mother.

Farris was able to get an entry visa for Iraq because his parents were born there, although they had lived in the United States for more than 30 years.

He took his US passport and $1 800 (about R11 500) in cash when he left, but didn't tell his family what he was doing until he arrived in Kuwait.

He had thought he would be able to take a taxi from Kuwait into Baghdad for the December 15 parliamentary elections, but the border was closed for voting.

He stayed with family friends in Lebanon before flying to Baghdad on December 25.

In Iraq, he stayed at an international hotel along with other Americans, drawing a crowd at a Baghdad food stand after using an Arabic phrase book to order.

Last Tuesday, Farris contacted the Associated Press bureau in Baghdad and related his story.

Farris had recently studied immersion journalism - in which a writer lives the life of his subject - and wanted to understand better what Iraqis were living through.

"I thought I'd go the extra mile for that, or rather, a few thousand miles," he said last week.

Farris left Baghdad on Friday, as US consul-general Richard B Hermann reiterated state department warnings against travelling to Iraq.

Forty American citizens have been kidnapped since the war started in March 2003, of whom 10 have been killed, said a US official.

Nver back down in argument

Classmates at Pine Crest School said they were not surprised Farris went to such extreme lengths.

Bryan King, 17, said Farris was known for never backing down in an argument.

"I definitely think he took it a little far, but that's Farris so I'm not really surprised that he did this," said King, who takes part in the same journalism programme as Farris.

- AP