Annapolis's sole Syrian refugee fighting for acceptance as Maryland governor calls for refugee ban

Annapolis, Md. Mostafa Hassoun, 23, is the only Syrian refugee living in Annapolis, a quaint, wealthy Republican town of 40,000 best known for being home to the U.S. Naval Academy.

His story is not unlike that of the thousands of Syrians who have arrived in recent months in various cities and towns acrossCanada, where, like Hassoun, they feel both welcomeand like complete outsiders,but he has something else to contend with, too:a political climate that has been much less friendlyto the new arrivals.

Syrian people are like Americans:we want freedom.- MostafaHassoun,Syrian refugee

"Most people watch CNN or FOX news, and many people don't really know about Syria," said Hassounduringan interview in anAnnapolis coffee shop last week."They just know ISIS."

Putmore simply,Hassoun said,"U.S. people have an Islamic problem."

One of those you could say has an "Islamic problem"is the current Republican governor of Maryland, LarryHogan,who also lives in Annapolis.

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Hogan is one of about30mostly Republican governorsin the U.S. who have said they don't wantSyrian refugees to besettledin theirstates for fear that they pose a security risk.The governors have no real power to bar entry, though, as immigration is federally controlled.

"I want to talk to him," said Hassoun, speakingin the basic English he's learnedsince arriving here June 15. "He wants to make the U.S. safe.Well, I want to tell him that not all Syrianslike terrorism. Syrian people are like Americans:we want freedom."

While the governor has refused to meet with Hassounor any of the other Syrianrefugees who have been protesting in recent months in the state capital the newcomer hasmanaged to change the minds ofsome in his adopted town. For the first six weeks after he arrived in the U.S., he stayed with the family ofBaileyUlbricht, 22, whometHassounwhileteaching English to refugees inAntakya, Turkey.

"He's changed so many people's perspectives on Syria,"shesaid."In my family alone, there were some conservative views. The impact is huge in this community."

Recent attacks inflamed anti-refugee rhetoric

After the extremist attacks in Paris lastNovemberandinSan Bernardinoin earlyDecember, the anti-Muslim, anti-Syrian refugee rhetoric in the U.S. has ramped up.

Whilein Canadataking in Syrian refugees has become a "national project," asImmigration Minister John McCallum has called it, it's a harder sell in the U.S.

When Hassoun saw a Facebook post showingCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcoming the first flight of refugeesat Pearson International Airport in December, he was blown away.

"He is young. He is so nice. He is good, so good," said Hassoun."Can he come to Annapolis to meet people?"

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The U.S., which on a global scale, resettles more refugees than any other country, hasbrought in around2,500 Syria refugees since 2011.The overall White House goal is 10,000 by the end of 2016, but some doubt whether that will be met.

White House attempts charm offensive

Meanwhile, Obama's White House continues to try to convince Americansthat the influx of refugeeswon't compromise their security, even inviting one high-profileSyrianrefugee to sit in on the state of the union address this week.

After theattacks in Paris, the White House released a simplistic, animatedvideo narrated by Secretary of Homeland SecurityJeh Johnsoncalled "Meet Reema" that outlines the"rigorous security screening process" that refugees go through.

"Taking in refugees at times of crisis is simply the right thing to do," Johnson says in the video. "We canand will ensure our own security."

Still, the idea is not playing well with many state politicians or the general public and has drawn criticism from three of theleading Republicancandidates for the presidential nominationDonald Trump, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.

Refugee process in Canada vs. U.S.

Trump's first television ad, released in early January, went so far as tocall for a "temporary ban onMuslims entering the United States," something that drewoutragewhenhe first proposed itin December.

Hassounis exasperated by Trump and this kind of talk.

"Do you know how hard it is to come to the United States?" he asked. "It'ssooohard to come to the U.S."

A middle-class life disrupted by war

Hassoun was living a middle-class life in Bedama, a suburb ofIdlibinnorthwest Syria, when demonstrations against the government of Bashar al-Assadbegan in 2011. It wasn't long until Assad's military arrived and began squashing the protests in his town.

Hassoun said hisbest friendwas imprisoned for taking photos of protestors and eventuallydied in prison after beingtortured forseven months.

When it became too dangerous for Hassoun's family to stay in their house, his father gotHassoun'smother andsiblingstogetherand told them they were leaving for Turkeyfor a couple ofweeks.

They only brought a few items of clothing each, but those weeks turned into eight months in Reyhanli refugee camp, where they all lived together in one tent, andthen, into four years living in limbo in Antakyawithout any officialstatus.

Hassoun and his family wanted to come to the U.S. He waited 15months to finally be accepted, but everyone else in his family was denied.

In Turkey, he was repeatedly interviewed by representatives of theU.S. Department ofHomeland Security, the UNHCR andthe International CatholicMigration Commission. He was finger-printed, iris-scannedand asked about every detail of his life.

Still, he said, when he first saw the emailinforming him hehad been accepted by the U.S.,he couldn't believe it and immediately ran to tell his family.

"The U.S., it's my dream, even before the revolution," said Hassoun.

As a boy, he had wanted to study in the U.S. because hehad watched Syrians with a U.S. education become successful in their fieldsand also becausehe wanted to become an architect and liked U.S.architecture and design.

Long road ahead

It's a mystery to Hassoun as to why he was the only one in his family accepted to the U.S. given that young,malerefugeesfrom Syria havegenerally faced more suspicion than women,children or older individuals.

Ulbricht thinks the fact thathe worked with Americans at the International Medical Corpsin Turkeyandlearned a bit of Englishhelped his case.

The rest of his family has since resettled inSweden.

It will be five years before Hassounwill have the chance to get U.S. citizenshipand apply for apassport, five years before he can travel outside the country to see his family again.

There are 15,000 people in my home village. I know them all.Here, it is so hard to know people.- MostafaHassoun

For now, he's moved out of the Ulbricht home and into a rooming house above an ice cream shop on one ofAnnapolis's main streets.

He has a full-time job bagging groceries at Whole Foods, earning $11 anhour.He hopes to start schoolin the fall, with the help of money raised through aGoFundMepage set up byUlbrichtto help him finance his education.

In the meantime, his biggestchallenge istrying to fit in.

"There are 15,000 people in my home village. I know them all," said Hassoun."Here, it is so hard to know people. Idon't understand American people, what they like and don't like."