Leaving

Written by Tony Makhoul

Near the end of 2016, the U.S. ambassador's office informed us that we could go to Jordan on January 17, 2017 to get our Visas. This meant that we would finally be able to travel to the United States. Receiving this letter, caused us to have many emotions. Our feelings were mixed between sadness that we were leaving our country and excitedness that we are going to build a new future in a new place.

On January 17, 2017 everything went as planned. We went to the consulate's office and received our Visas! Then we booked airline tickets to leave on February 7, 2017. When we went back to Tartus, Syria to pack our belongings and get ready to leave I saw everyone crying! My relatives and friends had sadness in their faces. I was so confused, shouldn’t they be happy for us? Or, were they crying because of love that is between us? Until this day, I still don’t know.