Teen Who Went to Iraq Returns Home to Family

A 16-year-old who took off to Iraq alone to experience the lives of its people firsthand arrived in Miami, ending a three-week Middle East odyssey much to the relief of his parents.

Farris Hassan gave a thumbs-up to reporters as he walked, surrounded by family members, to a car waiting outside Miami International Airport.

“He’s very overwhelmed. I don’t think he had any idea about all the media coverage,” his mother, Shatha Atiya, told reporters gathered outside her Fort Lauderdale home. “He’s just tired; he wants to rest.”