Dearborn family strives to reunite, bring loved ones from Egypt after escaping war in Gaza
DEARBORN, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - In a small corner of Dearborn, Michigan, the echoes of war resonate through the voices of Palestinian immigrants who have sought refuge in the United States.
Bahjat Aboushaban, who relocated to Dearborn four years ago, recalls the harrowing experiences of living in Gaza, where his family still resides amidst ongoing conflict.
"I lived in Gaza for five years. Every morning when I wake up, I'm afraid I'm going to see that something bad happened," he shares, reflecting on the fear that grips his heart.
His wife, Sara Shannan, was born and raised in Gaza and recounted facing three major wars before fleeing with her family during the latest conflict in 2014. However, this time, the war in her homeland has given her entire family no choice but to leave Gaza.
"This time, it actually was so bad that my family left on the second day of the war," Shannan says.
Amidst the turmoil, Palestinian-owned businesses like Scoops N Smoothies in Dearborn, owned by Iyad Almani, serve as beacons of solidarity and support for the community.
"Whenever they come, habibi, on us! They are our guests," Almani said as he offered both Aboushaban and Shannan a taste of his menu and a pint of his support.
"I grew up in Jerusalem from Sheikh Jarrah. My family is there with my mom, who still lives there with my brother. I came to the States in the 80s," Almani says.
But for many, like Almani, the fear of displacement looms large, especially for his mother and brother, who live in Sheikh Jarrah, a neighborhood in the West Bank that is under Israeli occupation and has become the center of illegal Israeli settlements.
"The neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah is now overwhelmingly became settlers who just came, and many, many families from that neighborhood were kicked out of their homes," Almani laments, highlighting the ongoing struggles faced by Palestinians.
The situation is further compounded by the violence and restrictions imposed in the West Bank, as Muhanad Sheikhhamin, a Palestinian filmmaker and Almani's nephew, recalled the harrowing experiences of his childhood at his uncle's shop.
"When I was kid, I was trying to get out and go into the supermarket. It was right across our house. I walk in. I maybe was five, six years old. I go into the supermarket. I buy what I need, and as I step out, I see this Israeli military Jeep. They are outside. They are shooting at the kids in the street. I got trapped there. I got trapped with a traumatizing experience at just five years old," Muhanad Sheikhamin says.
Sheikhamin says he was also in the West Bank during the attacks on Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7. However, what came after were the same harrowing events he experienced as a kid.
"It was very scary, actually. We couldn't really leave the city. You were not allowed. Everything was blocked. We were traveling through Ein Yabroud (near Ramallah), and we saw a car that was beaten up and put on the side of the road. There was a spray paint on it saying 'the road is closed' (in Arabic). There was also a skull and a danger sign on it," Sheikhamin explained while pointing to an image he had taken of the vehicle on his phone.
"We turned around and went back (home), and we asked the villagers, and they told us the Israeli army put it there, and they said anyone who comes through that point would get shot," Sheikhamin said.
As for Sheikhman's sister, Dina Sheikhman, an artist and Palestinian filmmaker herself, she says since the Israel-Hamas War began, life no longer moves at the same speed it used to. Before she and her brother came from the West Bank to visit their Uncle Iyad Almani in Dearborn, just two months after the war began, everything back home had been motionless.
"There's not a lot of work now. The cultural scene is frozen because I'm a filmmaker. I make documentary films, content creation, and now there is nothing," Dina Sheikhman says.
Abraham Obeid, also known as Halal Food Junkie, is a Lebanese-American born in Dearborn. For him, his passion for highlighting the local halal food scene in Metro Detroit is his niche, and his passion is using his platform to uplift entrepreneurs, businesses, and people who are making a positive impact in their community or those who need a helping hand.
"Everyone has a connection in Dearborn. What makes Dearborn so unique is our parents are immigrants for a better future, and then we're born here as Americans, but we also have a lot of culture and heritage back home," Obeid says.
Obeid, like Shannan, also knows the feeling of trying to escape war unscathed after having to do it while on a family vacation trip in Lebanon during the Israel-Lebanon War in 2006.
"I was there on a vacation. I was 12 years old. I'll never forget it. That's where I heard the bombing at the airport, and I'll never forget that. It was 6:30 in the morning. I jumped up and started crying," Obeid says.
He also says he remembers meeting several people from Dearborn who were on vacation just like him and narrowly survived bombings of their family homes.
"The war was like 33 days. The last day, when the U.S. Embassy could take you out on the boat, we went on the boat from Lebanon to Beruit to Cyprus.
"From Cyprus, we stayed in a shelter, a homeless shelter, with thousands and thousands of people. I even met people from Dearborn who got bombed that, Alhamduliah (God willing), they stayed alive. Then from there, we went to Switzerland, Switzerland to Atlanta, Atlanta to Chicago, and then Chicago to finally Detroit," Obeid said.
With all that in mind, Shannan sent Obeid a message with the hope he could help share her story, given that the road to safety for her family in Gaza has been met with life-threatening challenges.
"My family was in Gaza when the war started. They actually managed to evacuate Gaza three weeks ago due to my American citizenship," Shannan explains, recounting the harrowing journey to Egypt, where her family now resides.
Since Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7, the Gaza Health Ministry reports the Israel Defense Forces have killed more than 26,000 Palestinians in a little over three months, 70% being women and children. That's nearly 250 deaths per day, a daily death toll rate surpassing that of any major conflict in the 21st century.
More than 1.8 million people within Gaza are also displaced; that is 85% of Gaza's population, including Shannan's family, whose home was not only destroyed by an Israeli airstrike but said the long-time Shannan family pharmacy has been wiped out too.
"I was able to put their name on the list of those allowed to leave for Egypt. So, they are currently in Egypt. They are renting a house, and there is no source of income. The house that my grandparents built with their sweat and tears, it was out to the ground on October 9. Thankfully, my family just left earlier that day," Shannan said.
"We also had one pharmacy that was my grandfather's legacy. He was a pharmacist; my father was a pharmacist; and now my brother is a pharmacist. So that's everything we know, and it's the legacy of the Shanan family, basically in Gaza. We learned last week that it was also destroyed, and everything in it is gone now." Shannan explained to Obeidas that her husband, Almani, and his niece, Dina, and nephew, Muhanad, gathered around inside the Scoops N Smoothies sweet treat shop.
Bahjat says the status of his family leaving Gaza is less promising than he would have hoped for. He said his mother is the only one out of his family who has been given access to leave Gaza for Egypt. However, he says she is unwilling to leave if it means she must leave alone.
"I was able to get my mom's name through the American Embassy to be able to evacuate from Gaza. But yet, she won't, right now, leave my siblings and the rest of her family, so it's kind of tough," Aboushaban said.
"There is a systematic way that they won't even actually allow all the families to evacuate all at once. They try to separate the families, for instance, and this is done on purpose. They are trying to separate the families. As of now, my mom won't leave because she doesn't want to go herself and leave everyone behind," Aboushaban added.
Despite the distance, the Shannan family's determination to reunite remains unwavering.
"Everybody has stories about how difficult their life is in Gaza. When it's everything you know, you're family. Like, your home town is where everyone you love is. One month ago, I didn't even sleep at night, especially when there is no communication when I couldn't tell whether they are still alive or not. But now that they are safe in Egypt, I know I can contact them anytime I want. I know that they are fine. They can sleep without bombings. They are not going to worry about where they going to get their first meal," Shannan says.
While she can now sleep with peace of mind knowing her family is safe in Egypt, Shannan says she can't help but think of everyone else, especially young children who are still suffering in her hometown of Gaza.
"My heart still aches for my other l family in Gaza. All of Gazans are my family. All of Gaza's kids are my kids. It still hurts me that other people are still suffering over there," Shannan says.
As her family navigates the complexities of immigration and rebuilds their lives, Shannan says it could take two to three months before her family can be cleared to immigrate from Egypt to Dearborn, Michigan. Until then, efforts are underway to provide assistance and raise funds for members of the Shannan family seeking refuge in the United States via GoFundMe.