Farris Hassan is an American who, while a junior at Pine Crest School

Pine Crest School

Pine Crest School is a private college preparatory school with campuses in Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was founded in Fort Lauderdale in 1934 by Mae McMillan who began as a tutor to children of families spending the winter in South Florida, USA. In 1995, Dr. Lourdes Cowgill became...

 in Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, took an unaccompanied trip to Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

. He said he was inspired by a personal attachment to the situation in Iraq and an English class having a project on "immersion journalism

Immersion journalism

Immersion Journalism or Immersionism is a style of journalism similar to gonzo journalism. Like Gonzo, immersionism details an individual's experiences from a deeply personal perspective. An individual will choose a situation, and immerse themselves in the events and people involved...

". It was reported that Hassan left home for Iraq without telling his parents, but, upon finding him, secretly helped him gain entry into Baghdad though they denied this in interviews. Hassan's parents, now divorced, are Iraqi-born but immigrated to the United States

Immigration to the United States

Immigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy regarding ethnicity, economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants,...

, where they have lived for 35 years. He is currently a student at Amherst College

Amherst College

Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...

 in the class of 2011.

Journey to Iraq

Hassan set off on December 11, 2005 flying from Miami International Airport

Miami International Airport

Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the South Florida area...

 to Kuwait City

Kuwait City

-Suburbs:Although the districts below are not usually recognized as suburbs, the following is a list of a few areas surrounding Kuwait city:Al-Salam ""السلام"" -Economy:...

, arriving on December 13 at 12:05 a.m, and stopping in Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

 on December 12. In Kuwait he first called his parents telling them that he wanted to travel to Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

. Failing to cross the Iraqi border by taxi, he then flew to Beirut

Beirut

Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...

, Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

, where he stayed with friends of the family and met with a media relations officer of Hezbollah. On December 25, he took a plane to Baghdad International Airport

Baghdad International Airport

Baghdad International Airport, originally Saddam International Airport, , BIAP is Iraq's largest airport, located in a suburb about west of downtown Baghdad in the Baghdad Governorate...

. He then interviewed Iraqis and American soldiers about the situation in Iraq and looked for a humanitarian organization where he could do volunteer work. On December 28, he was picked up by the 101st Airborne Division

101st Airborne Division

The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...

. The U.S. embassy then issued a statement on December 30, stating that Hassan had departed Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

, and was safely onboard a return flight back to the United States.

The Society for Love & Justice

The Society for Love & Justice is a humanitarian organization that Farris Hassan established with support from members of his community in 2006.

Projects have included:

• Sending school supplies to refurbish schools in Iraq
• Sending student written letters to American soldiers in Iraq
• An inter-faith outreach group dedicated to promoting unity, goodwill, and greater tolerance between the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim communities. Associated with the Interfaith Outreach Group are South Florida's Temple Beth Emet, El Azhar Islamic School, and Pine Crest School
  Pine Crest School
  Pine Crest School is a private college preparatory school with campuses in Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was founded in Fort Lauderdale in 1934 by Mae McMillan who began as a tutor to children of families spending the winter in South Florida, USA. In 1995, Dr. Lourdes Cowgill became...
  
  .

Summer 2007 trip to Afghanistan

In July 2007, Hassan went to Kabul, Afghanistan. Hassan said he went to examine the reconstruction of the country, the development of women's rights and education after 25 years of war, how civil problems such as the enormous number of street children and lack of infrastructure are being met, and to see what he could do to help. He visited several schools for girls and disadvantaged children, women’s advocacy/support organizations, centers that aid street children, and various humanitarian NGOs. Hassan did not tell anyone of his leaving to Afghanistan until he was in the Middle East. Once in Afghanistan he called his family regularly. During his trip, he talked to women politicians and is working on a project to build a school for gifted children. The proposal for the school can be found on his website.

Misconceptions

There were various misconceptions about Hassan that were reported by the press that he has said on his website are untrue such as his alleged affiliation with terrorists, his enrollment in a journalism class (though his school did not offer one) [this was in fact a project for an AP English literature class] and the question of who really knew that he was leaving.

A full list of these errors can be found on Hassan's website.