Tensions over Huber Breaker dominate Ashley Borough Council meeting

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Plymouth Active Adult Center and PA Virtual Charter School create charitable sleeping bag from discarded quilt

<p>KINGSTON &#8212; After fleeing their home in Syria to avoid impending bombings, Mohamad Mandou and his family struggled for three years to get to the United States and regain hope for a brighter future.</p><p>Mandou, 43, his wife, Manal Abdulilah Zamel, 37, and their five children &#8212; Abdulrahman, 17; Rahaf, 16; Shahd, 11; Kamar, 10, and Hozaifa, 4 &#8212; lost everything in Homs, Syria. They were forced to flee when word rang through the streets that bombs were on their way.</p><p>The family left its home immediately, going first to Damascus and then to Jordan before finally arriving in the U.S.</p><p>Manal&#8217;s aunt was living in Forty Fort so the family, with the help of Catholic Social Services, Misericordia University, St. Therese Church in Shavertown and The Peace Center in Wilkes-Barre, found a place to live in Kingston.</p><p>Mohamad has found a job at the TJ Maxx warehouse in Pittston. He is in training now and will work four 10-hour days per week. He rides the bus to work &#8212; an hour and a half ride each way but he&#8217;s happy to be working. Abdulrahman, a junior at Wyoming Valley West High School, hopes to find a part-time job to help pay bills.</p><p>The entire family is learning to speak English &#8212; the children are learning at a much faster pace. Until they become fluent, an interpreter helps each for one hour of the school day.</p><p>This family&#8217;s struggle is just one story of Syrian refugees fleeing their home country in hopes of finding a new beginning in the U.S. The issue has caused heated debate with some states banning refugees. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf made it clear early on he would not block the refugees from coming to his state.</p><p><strong>Gov. Wolf pleased</strong></p><p>Jeffrey Sheridan, Wolf&#8217;s press secretary, said the governor is pleased to hear Mohamad and his family are acclimating to their new home.</p><p>&#8220;The father is starting a job,&#8221; Sheridan said on behalf of the governor. &#8220;Oftentimes, refugees from all over the world come to Pennsylvania and help to rebuild or strengthen neighborhoods. They also start businesses and really help strengthen the fabric of our communities.&#8221;</p><p>Sheridan said Pennsylvania has a long history of accepting refugees from all over the world and often those refuges are escaping violence and other horrible conditions in their home countries.</p><p>&#8220;We cannot turn our backs on them,&#8221; Sheridan said.</p><p><strong>Family talks of ordeal</strong></p><p>Mohamad said the war in Syria forced his family to flee. He was afraid, especially, for his children. When those warnings came from the street, Mohamad and his family left &#8212; first staying with relatives, then traveling to Damascus and Jordan.</p><p>&#8220;We were very scared,&#8221; Manal said. &#8220;We were traumatized.&#8221;</p><p>Manal said several of her family members were killed. She said the government &#8220;just started shooting people.&#8221;</p><p>Mohamad had a store in Homs and the family owned a small farm outside that city. For most of the three years before coming to the U.S., the family of seven lived in one room waiting for sponsors for their air fare.</p><p>&#8220;We are happy here and we are very thankful,&#8221; Mohamad said. &#8220;To all who have helped us, they are like family. We don&#8217;t know we can ever thank them.&#8221;</p><p>Mohamda and Manal feel comfortable here where, they say, people have been good to them.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not easy to leave your home and country,&#8221; Manal said. &#8220;We pray someday we can go back, but for now, that is not an option.&#8221;</p><p>The children are happy, too, the parents said. They are learning English and learn every day in school.</p><p>&#8220;We are treated here as equals,&#8221; Mohamad said.</p><p>But there are several challenges &#8212; learning the language, finding transportation, learning a new job.</p><p>Through it all, Mohamad and Manal have goals.</p><p>&#8220;For me to work and to raise and educate my children,&#8221; Mohamad said.</p><p>&#8220;The main thing is our children&#8217;s future,&#8221; Manal said.</p><p>Abdul hopes to become a dentist. Shad wants to be a doctor. Kamar aspires to be an artist and Rahaf a nurse. Hozaifa, the youngest, loves cars.</p><p>&#8220;We don&#8217;t want to depend on everybody all the time,&#8221; Manal said. &#8220;We want to work and take care of ourselves and our family.&#8221;</p><p><strong>A community effort</strong></p><p>Christine Somers, D. Min, MSW, Director of Campus Ministry at Misericordia University, said a student saw the plight of the Syrian refugees on TV.</p><p>&#8220;Our student, Shannon Morgano, contacted Catholic Social Services back in November and began a six-week drive on campus asking for winter hats, gloves, toiletries and kitchen supplies,&#8221; Somers said. &#8220;Kutztown University also sent items to us (Shannon&#8217;s sister goes to school there). The first two deliveries of canned goods, supplies and donations from our students were taken to Mohamad&#8217;s house in November.&#8221;</p><p>More items were gathered for the family in December so Somers and Sean Farry, Campus Minister at Misericordia, delivered them.</p><p>&#8220;I wrote them a letter in Arabic using Google translate and told them who we were and where we where from,&#8221; Somers said. &#8220;Mohamad welcomed us in his house. We used his app on his phone to try to communicate. We told him we would be back.&#8221;</p><p>From there, Somers posted a plea on her Facebook page, asking for gift cards for food and donations for the family. Donations came in and the effort grew.</p><p>Somers got help from Gary Williams of St. Therese Church who asked Rev. Jim Paisley for assistance. St. Ignatius Church in Kingston also got involved, helping to pay bills.</p><p>Somers reached out to King&#8217;s College and Wilkes University seeking names of translators to help find a job for Mohamad.</p><p>&#8220;I am happy to say we have been to their house at least eight times and shared a Syrian meal with them,&#8221; Somers said. &#8220;They have become our friends and it is our communal responsibility to care for this family who is in need.&#8221;</p><p>Williams said the group effort wouldn&#8217;t have been successful without the assistance of Dallal Neddoff acting as interpreter. Williams said Neddoff, who is also from Homs, has been available whenever needed.</p><p>Williams said the family could use help from the community &#8212; financial assistance is needed until income from Mohamad&#8217;s job comes in. Mohamad hopes to pass his driver&#8217;s test next week, but cannot afford a car. He said a donated used vehicle (preferably a van for this family of seven) would be of great value.</p><p>Rod Gereda, director at the Peace Center, was asked why he and the others came to the family&#8217;s aid.</p><p>&#8220;How could I not?&#8221; Gereda asked. &#8220;To stay home, to stay silent, to stay non-involved is not an option. My only option is to help this beautiful family achieve a life with hope, to offer gentleness and a welcoming community. My option is to practice unselfishness.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Mohamad Mandou explains his family&#8217;s flight from Syria that began more than three years ago, while his oldest son, Abdulrahman Mando, listens. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020316syrian1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Mohamad Mandou explains his family&#8217;s flight from Syria that began more than three years ago, while his oldest son, Abdulrahman Mando, listens. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020316syrian2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Manal Abdulilah Zamel prepares tea and coffee for visitors. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020316syrian2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Manal Abdulilah Zamel prepares tea and coffee for visitors. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020316syrian3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Mohamad Mandou and his family discuss their fleeing Syria to Jordan and, finall, the United States. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020316syrian3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Mohamad Mandou and his family discuss their fleeing Syria to Jordan and, finall, the United States. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020316syrian4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Four-year-old Hozaifa Mando whispers a secret to his older sister, Shahd Mando, 11, while the family talks about its home in Syria. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020316syrian4.jpg</photo3><caption3>Four-year-old Hozaifa Mando whispers a secret to his older sister, Shahd Mando, 11, while the family talks about its home in Syria. </caption3><photoCredit3>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020316syrian5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Abdulrahman Mando, 17, serves tea inside his Kingston home. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020316syrian5.jpg</photo4><caption4>Abdulrahman Mando, 17, serves tea inside his Kingston home. </caption4><photoCredit4>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020316syrian6.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Shahd, 11, and Kamar, 9, Mando giggle and play while their mother makes tea. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020316syrian6.jpg</photo5><caption5>Shahd, 11, and Kamar, 9, Mando giggle and play while their mother makes tea. </caption5><photoCredit5>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020316syrian8.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The Mandou family&#8217;s papers stamped for a year on Sept. 14 rest on the living room table in their Kingston home. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020316syrian8.jpg</photo6><caption6>The Mandou family&#8217;s papers stamped for a year on Sept. 14 rest on the living room table in their Kingston home. </caption6><photoCredit6>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit6></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020316syrian7.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kamar and Hozaifa Mando play while their older brother, Abdulrahman, talks with his father in the family&#8217;s Kingston home. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo7>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL020316syrian7.jpg</photo7><caption7>Kamar and Hozaifa Mando play while their older brother, Abdulrahman, talks with his father in the family&#8217;s Kingston home. </caption7><photoCredit7>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit7></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>How you can help</strong></p><p>For information on how you can help the family of Mohamad Mandou, call: Christine Somers, D. Min, MSW, Director of Campus Ministry, Misericordia University, Dallas, at 570-674-6314.</p><p>Somers said the family is only in need of monetary donations or gift cards at this point. A used bike has been found for Mohamad. If he can find a part-time job on the weekends or if his oldest son can find work, that would be great.</p><p>Donations may be sent to Campus Ministry, Misericordia University, 301 Lake St., Dallas PA 18612.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Syrian family of seven living in Kingston struggles but is happy to be here