Aiya Al-Mzayen escaped Syria and is now a 16-year-old student at Woodrow Wilson High School. (Photo by Danny Fulgencio)
Discussions on refugees and immigrants, specifically those from Muslim-dominate nations, consumed the news this week. East Dallas attorneys immediately got to work defending the rights of those detained at DFW airport this week with free, round-the-clock representation.
But what about those refugees who live among us? We met Aiya Al-Mzayen last fall, when immigration was a hot-button issue in the then-impending election. The 16-year-old Woodrow Wilson High School student moved here from the bomb-ravaged nation of Syria, one of the seven nations affected by President Donald Trump’s travel ban.
Life in Damascus was once blissful, before civil war ripped apart any semblance of peace. Her grandfather was murdered in the streets as he walked to buy her 13th birthday present. Her father was kidnapped and tortured. Fleeing became the family’s only hope for survival. Read the full story here.
