For Two College Students, Finally a Place (and a Person) to Call Home

For Yolka Gessen and Mohamad Eisa, the concept of home is complicated. Mr. Eisa, 24, is a native of Syria. In 2013, when the Syrian war escalated, the neighborhood in Homs where he lived with his mother and extended family fell under attack. Electricity was cut off; food and water were scarce. In July of that year, Mr. Eisa and his mother escaped to Turkey via Lebanon. The two settled in Istanbul where Mr. Eisa attended high school and perfected his English by working at a traveler's hostel. Within the year, with financial backing from the Ad.Dar Center, a community group which supports Syrians and Palestinians, he secured a scholarship to complete his final two years of high school at Friends Select School in Philadelphia. On Sept. 3, 2016, just days after his 18th birthday, he arrived in America, alone. His first experience of the country was sobering. "After the immigration officer read the name in my passport, I was searched and everything was inspected, including my phone and all my photos," he said. "Then the officer told me, 'Be careful, they know and see everything here.' " Mr. Eisa landed with a kind host family, one of three with… Read full this story

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