The Nexus

As he stepped off the plane into the San Diego airport last year, Hakam Addad (11) could sense the safety of his surroundings. The American dream he longed for was now in clear sight.

A chance at the American dream, a chance at a new beginning— two things Addad and his family needed. Addad had lived in Baghdad, Iraq with his family for 14 years until his parents decided that Baghdad posed too much of a risk for their family.

“It is too dangerous to live there,” Addad said. “Militia are trying to terrorize people, no matter who or what they are. We really don’t know where they’re from. They don’t even speak our language.”

The fear of these terrorists also made it hard for Addad to live a normal teenage life.

“Every week, there was a bomb attack,” Addad said. “I could not go anywhere with my friends because I was exposed to being kidnapped at anytime, even at school. I would always stay at home and do homework and watch TV because there weren’t a lot of choices of activities to do.”

When Addad’s family’s lives were threatened, Addad’s father decided that it was finally time to leave Baghdad.

“The [terrorists] threatened my father,” Addad said. “They told him that if he was to keep working at the hospital where he was a doctor, they would kill him or kidnap me.”

Addad supported his father’s decision to leave Iraq, and said that if he was put into his father’s situation, he would have done the same thing.

“People should be safe where they live,” Addad said. “I wouldn’t want to jeopardize my life living in such a bloody place.”

From Baghdad, Addad and his family moved to Jordan, where he lived for two years until Addad’s parents, both of whom were doctors in Baghdad, decided to come to San Diego, hoping to obtain Ph.D.s and continue their work.

After Addad found out that he would be moving to San Diego, he spent two weeks last year visiting Westview to see how he would enjoy schooling in America.

Addad said the first day at Westview was overwhelming because the school and population are two to three times larger than his school in Iraq.

“It’s a whole different world,” Addad said. “The way you use language, the different expressions, everything is different. Imagine going to school and not knowing what everyone was saying.”

Considering the huge transition Addad made coming to Westview, his first day at school was bittersweet.

“I was just shocked both negatively and positively,” Addad said. “Positively, because it is a nice new school with a good system, and how big the school is, but negatively by not knowing people. Everything was new to me.”

Not knowing people is the main struggle for Addad. In his case, he is entering a whole different culture, making Westview unknown territory with a completely new breed of people.

“The social life is just different here,” Addad said. “It’s hard for me to find friends here compared to Baghdad or Jordan.”

But according to Addad, not having a lot of friends gives him an academic edge.

“I don’t know if I’m going to make friends this first year,” Addad said. “Focusing on my studying plans is my advantage right now. I’m just trying to meet my [graduation] requirements. I’m planning on going to a university.”

Now in his first full year as a Westview student, Addad said he is adjusting to daily life. He said his ability to do so comes from his no-expectation state of mind: he came with no preconceptions about what Americans would be like, because after spending time in different countries, he realizes that nationality has little effect on the personality of individuals.

“We’re all totally different,” Addad said. “You cannot generalize a country. That perspective let me accept everyone.”

As Addad makes a new home for himself in San Diego, he said he is starting to enjoy the American way of life. He makes an effort to read and practice his English and now tries to find a comfortable routine in the suburbs.

“Life is so sophisticated here compared to Baghdad,” Addad said. “We have everything we want here. There are more activities here. For me, in Iraq, it was more of me just staying home and doing nothing. It’s just so dangerous there. For example, I really like to play soccer, but I couldn’t join a league or anything because it was too dangerous. I would risk my life for my activities.”

Addad, who intends on trying out for the soccer team next year, is enjoying and truly appreciates the freedom he now has in San Diego. He also said that his parents now give him the freedom he needs to live a normal teenage life, one that he couldn’t have in Iraq.

“They give me the freedom anybody else [has],” Addad said. “I’m able to get everything I wanted now, like video games and I go to soccer matches and play soccer when I want. Every Sunday I go and play soccer. I do whatever I want, so I’m getting everything I want.”

Looking back on his situation in Iraq, Addad is just happy to be where he is right now and embracing his new beginning in San Diego.

“It was scary,” Addad said. “I was too young to realize what happened. Now, I just thank God because I got through it and nothing happened to my family.”