Farris Hassan talks about trip to Iraq

Rita Cosby Anchor • Profile

In an exclusive interview, MSNBC’s Rita Cosby talks to Farris Hassan, the 16-year-old Florida boy who made worldwide headlines when he skipped school to suddenly travel to Iraq without even telling his own mother. Hassan finally broke his silence, sitting down with Rita Cosby for his first interview since arriving safely back in the United States.

On December 11, on his own, Farris left America on a 20-day trip which would take him to one of the most dangerous regions on earth.  Hassan tells Rita he was fully aware of the risks that he faced and that he had been planning his incredible and secret trip for more than a month.

RITA COSBY, HOST 'LIVE & DIRECT:  When exactly did you decide to go to Iraq?

FARRIS HASSAN, 16-YEAR-OLD WHO TRAVELED TO IRAQ:  I would say in November.  After seeing the news and the stress people were going through, I really felt compelled, and I was consumed by passion to do something, to go over there and volunteer for the Red Cross or something like—something along those lines to help the Iraqis rebuild their lives.  I was looking forward to help maybe dispersing some food or just bringing a smile or two to some children there.

COSBY:  Did you tell anybody about it?

HASSAN:  Yes.  I told two of my friends.  They‘re the closest people to me, closer to me than my family.

COSBY:  Did your parents know that you were going to the Middle East?

HASSAN:  I had spoken with my mother earlier about going to the Middle East, and she said, Possibly, if it gets safer.  I didn‘t really believe her when she said that, so from then on, I took matters into my own hands and I started planning the trip.

When I left, she had absolutely no idea what was going on.  And she, in fact, found out that I was not in school on Monday from the dean of students.  And she—the dean of students asked her, Where‘s Farris, and she said, I don‘t know.  I have no idea where he is.  And she was shocked when she got my e-mail, unfortunately.  That make me feel guilty, and I regret the grief I cause my family.

COSBY:  What about your dad?

HASSAN:  My dad did not have complete knowledge of all the specific of my plannings, but he knew a bit more than my mother.

COSBY:  But didn‘t know you were going to Iraq on that date, to that degree?

HASSAN:  Yes.

COSBY:  He did not know that?

HASSAN:  He did not know that.

COSBY:  How much planning did it take to go to Iraq—from Ft. Lauderdale to Iraq, that‘s not an easy trip.

HASSAN:  Yes.  My planning could have been better.  It definitely could have been better, and I made a lot of bad decisions along the way, one of which was thinking of getting to Baghdad with a taxi from Kuwait City.  That was definitely a bad idea.  And if I had been able to get in through the Kuwaiti/Iraqi border when I arrived on Tuesday morning, I‘m almost sure I would have been killed.  So my timing was poor.

I did—it did take a lot.  I had to contact the Iraqi embassy to get my entry visa, to get my passport, but I‘m actually very surprised that I was able to get all of done and obtain all of those documents without any parental permission whatsoever.  That shocked me, actually.

COSBY:  Aren‘t you surprised?  You‘re just 16 years old and saying, I want to go to Iraq.  Nobody one said why?  Where are your parents?

HASSAN:  Nobody.

COSBY:  So everything just went through smoothly.

HASSAN:  Indeed.

COSBY:  Where did you get the money to fly all the way to Iraq?  You‘re 16 years old.

HASSAN:  The money was derived from investment money.  My parents—my—both of my parents gave me $5,000 after I had demonstrated my knowledge of the stock market with helping my mother make 25 percent in, like, two weeks from investment tips.  I read a lot of books in the last summer, probably, I think, four or five.  And I get “Investors‘ Business Daily,” great source of financial news, every single day, and I read that.  So the money was derived from my investment fund.

COSBY:  What did you pack for this trip?

HASSAN:  Not much.  In fact, I only took my backpack and a small suitcase.

COSBY:  And what‘d you put in those?

HASSAN:  Ordinary stuff, just as if you were going to, I don‘t know, Colorado or California for a one-week trip.  I took very little.

COSBY:  Were you concerned that word of your trip was going to leak out?  Did you tell your friends, Don‘t tell anybody?

HASSAN:  Yes, I was very concerned.  By that point, I had just—went through so much

FREE VIDEO Exclusive: American Teen Survives Alone in Iraq Jan 9: Florida Teen, Farris Hassan, Is back from his solo adventure in Iraq and in his first interview he tells Rita Cosby how he got out of the war zone alive. MSNBC

planning.  I had gone too far to stop then.  They, in fact, called me on my cell phone, saying, Farris, we‘re going to send the police to your house in order to stop from you going.  You cannot go to Iraq.  We‘re coming to your house right now.  So they were asking me for directions to my house, and I sort of misleaded them a bit.

But finally, they did arrive at my neighborhood, and just as I was in the taxi pulling out of my neighborhood, I saw my friends pulling into my neighborhood.  And we actually passed by each other.  And I was going to lower the window to tell them—I felt moved by this, and I was going to - I almost was about to stop right then and there, but something in me held me back.

COSBY:  So you actually drove right passed your friend, who was trying to stop you?

HASSAN:  Yes.

COSBY:  And you kept on going?

HASSAN:  They were able to reach me at the airport on the front desk phone, which I was very surprised by because I didn‘t tell them anything, any information.  So I could tell they really—they called all the airports, all the airlines and went through a lot in order to reach me.

COSBY:  And what did they say when they got you on the phone?

HASSAN:  Oh, it was very emotional.  She was crying.  And I told her that it‘s just something I have to do.  I just have to do this.  And I told her I would call my mother as soon as I arrived in the Middle East and tell her everything.

COSBY:  Briefly tell us the route you took from Miami airport to get to Baghdad.

HASSAN:  Well, I flew from Miami to Amsterdam, then to Kuwait City.  I took a taxi from Kuwait—from Kuwaiti City to the Iraqi border twice.  Both times, I was turned away.  After—from then on, I was stranded in Kuwait.  From there, I traveled to Beirut, Lebanon, and I spent 10 days there.

COSBY:  What was your parents‘ reaction when, all of a sudden, they got an e-mail how many days later?

HASSAN:  My mother told me that she just completely freaked out.

COSBY:  When did you send the e-mail?  And what did it say?

HASSAN:  When I was in the Kuwaiti airport, just before I left to go to the Iraqi border, I sent my mom an e-mail, telling her that I love her, not to worry about me, to trust my instincts, that I would be safe, and tell her that I planed on going to Baghdad.

COSBY:  Did you get a response back?

HASSAN:  Yes, I did, much later.  I believe it was the next day.

COSBY:  And what did the response say?

HASSAN:  She gave me contact numbers.  She told me not to go.  She told me she was worried about me.

COSBY:  How did you spend your Christmas Eve?

HASSAN:  Well, that was probably one of the highlights, the happiest times of my trip.  I went to three church services for Christmas Eve.  The first one was at an absolutely amazing Greek Orthodox church called St.  George‘s in downtown.  As I was exiting, I was greeted by probably about 50 Palestinians refugees living in Lebanon.  And they were all little kids with Santa hats, waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags.  There was teenagers there with bagpipes and drums.

I told them that I was an American here visiting Lebanon, and they all shook my hand and they invited me go with them to a cafe nearby.  And I was very surprised with the way they greeted me.

COSBY:  You actually met, you were telling me, with one of the leaders of Hezbollah.

HASSAN:  Yes.

COSBY:  How did that come about?

HASSAN:  Well, fortunately, my—the family with whom I was staying with was able to arrange several appointments with amazing figures in Lebanon—not amazing for a good reason, but just amazing to a 16-year-old that I‘d be able to get invited to meet.

COSBY:  Interesting figures?

HASSAN:  Interesting figures.  I interviewed the media relations officer for Hezbollah for two hours.  And I prepared probably about 20 questions for him.  I asked him everything, ranging from Iraq to America to Israel to in-depth Lebanese politics.

FREE VIDEO Farris Hassan Jan. 10: The 16-year-old student risked his life to go on a secret trip to the war zone in Iraq. For the first time, he is breaking his silence to MSNBC-TV's Rita Cosby in an exclusive interview about what has happened to him since arriving home. MSNBC

COSBY:  Where did you meet this main figure with Hezbollah?

HASSAN:  Oh, I had to travel through alleyways, and I finally walked - this was in the southern Shi‘ite section of Beirut, the poorest section, so walking through alleyways, going up staircases, crooked staircases with bullet holes in the walls.  And there was no sign saying, This is the Hezbollah office, of course.

COSBY:  Were you worried about your safety?

HASSAN:  No.  I felt like I—no.

COSBY:  Why not?

HASSAN:  Well, with each group I immersed myself, I changed my persona.  When I was with the Christians, I told them that I was a Lebanese Christian, an American Christian with Lebanese parents.  And when I met with the Hezbollah leader, I gave him the impression that I wanted to paint Hezbollah in a good light when I returned to the United States.

COSBY:  Did he believe you?

HASSAN:  I think he did, up until we started talking about the—up until we started talking about Israel.

COSBY:  Then you leave Lebanon after these experiences and go back to Iraq.  How did you get back in, finally?

HASSAN:  I took a plane flight from Beirut to Baghdad.

COSBY:  Did you think your journey to Iraq would be dangerous?

HASSAN:  I was fully aware of all the dangers.

COSBY:  Did you know how bad?

HASSAN:  Yes, I did.  From the beginning.  In fact, when I was leaving to Kuwait, I told my friend, You know, I think there‘s probably a 50-50 chance that I‘ll come out of Iraq without any harm.  And I was fully aware of all the kidnappings that were going on, of all the bombings, of all the danger that was going on.

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