Facebook opened his road to freedom

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Most of us have some contact with social media, many on a daily basis. And we know its power. You either love it or hate it – and sometimes both.

That’s especially true of Facebook.

It’s a very powerful tool around the world.

The approximately 275 people who heard Mohammed Al Samawi’s story on Oct. 28 learned what a powerful force Facebook has been in his life. As Al Samawi spoke to the packed audience in the Gussie and Victor Baxt Social Hall at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center, in Providence, the crowd sat totally entranced. At times, some laughed – and there were even a few tears.

Al Samawi grew up in Yemen and escaped during the civil war there through the power of Facebook.

Growing up with a physical disability, his parents, whom he termed “amazing,” were supportive, and he learned to speak English at a young age. In school, he was taught to hate Jews.

But at age 23, he was given a Bible by a teacher to whom Al Samawi had given a Quran.

“I really wanted to see if my book was better than his book,” Al Samawi said.

Reading the Bible cast doubt on all he had learned.

“I wanted to know why the Jews hate us,” he said.

Since there were no Jews in Sana’a, he reached out via Facebook, hoping to find a Jew to ask.

What he found was a much larger world. “I realized how small my group really was.”

He started encouraging friends to learn English via Facebook, and they formed a group. He became an interfaith peace activist via Facebook.

And threats to him and family began.

“I was afraid for my family,” he said, explaining how his extended family lived in such close proximity that he worried his activities might cause them great harm. 

So he moved south. And got caught in the middle of the burgeoning civil war between the Houthi Shia in the north and the Sunni Islamists in the south. Al-Qaida militants were roaming the streets looking for anyone resembling a northerner. Al Samawi fit that bill, with his light skin and accent.

Finally, he was trapped in a small room in the coastal city of Aden – and sent out a plea for help via Facebook. Four people answered his call. And that led to others, via Facebook postings, which led to offers of help and his eventual escape.

Through a harrowing journey that started in that small apartment, Al Samawi arrived at a Sheraton hotel, and then in India, and eventually in the U.S.  Again and again, Facebook friends, and friends of Facebook friends, and friends of friends of Facebook friends, stepped up to help.

In many cases, he was helped by people he hadn’t even had contact with, such as the driver who picked him up at the San Francisco airport because someone at Facebook named “Jenna” had sent out the call.

“He really didn’t care about helping. He had a crush on ‘Jenna,’ ” said Al Samawi.

He’s written a book about his story, “The Fox Hunt: A Refugee’s Memoir of Coming to America,” which will soon be made into a movie by Marc Platt, the producer of “LaLa Land.”

Al Samawi hopes that readers will take away these messages: being different is OK, small things matter, and freedom of speech is important.

“The freedom to say whatever you want, and to be who you want to be, and no one will come to kill you” is amazing, he said.

Before Al Samawi’s moving story, the crowd heard high school senior Sadie Gaffin talk about how her Jewish identity has been nurtured by the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, beginning with the Infant Toddler Center at the JCC and continuing as a camper and counselor at Camp JORI and as president of her USY chapter. The well-spoken Gaffin, who lives in Providence,  talked about traveling to Israel during the summer of 2018 and the life-changing experience of participating in the March of the Living.

“I am so lucky to be a Jew in this community,” she said.

Chairs for the 2019 Annual Campaign event, Marisa Garber and Dan Gamm, welcomed attendees, as did board chair Mitzi Berkelhammer and Alliance President and CEO Adam Greenman.

Greenman spoke about his hopes for the community, and its strong foundations.

“When people believe in community,” he said, “we can do anything.”

He went on to compare the community to a puzzle, and challenged the crowd to “make sure your piece isn’t missing.”

Philanthropy Vice Chair James Pious announced that the 2019 annual campaign is off to a strong start, with commitments of more than $1 million from 850 donors. 

“The annual campaign is the engine that fuels our community,” he said.

With the shootings at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh fresh on everyone’s mind, a moment of silence was observed at the start of the event.

Earlier in the evening, donors from the Pacesetters and Lions of Judah heard Dr. Yarden Fanta-Vagenshtein speak about her family’s escape from Ethiopia and their trek through the desert to Israel. She has spoken in Rhode Island in the past about the challenges Ethiopians face in Israel.

FRAN OSTENDORF (fostendorf@jewishallianceri.org) is the editor of The Jewish Voice.

Alliance, Annual Campaign