New York Boy Asks Obama For Help Adopting Syrian Child
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SCARSDALE, N.Y. (CBSMiami) -- A New York boy received a special shout-out from President Obama during his speech at a refugee summit Wednesday.
6-year-old Alex, from Scarsdale, New York, wrote to the president about Omran Daqneesh, a 5-year-old Syrian refugee whose home in Aleppo was destroyed in an airstrike, last month.
The image of Omran, left bloodied and scared in the back of an ambulance, moved the world to tears, especially Alex.
So Alex asked for the president's help in bringing young Omran to the United States to live with him and his family, including little sister Catherine, who's already collected butterflies and fireflies for their new friend.
"Remember the boy who was picked up by the ambulance in Syria," Alex asks in his letter. "Can you please go get him and bring him to [my home]? Park in the driveway or on the street and we will be waiting for you guys with flags, flowers, and balloons. We will give him a family and he will be our brother."
Touched by the offer, Obama read Alex's letter at the UN summit, where he would also announce that the U.S. would accept 110,000 refugees in 2017.
"Those are the words of a six-year-old boy, a young child who has not learned to be cynical, or suspicious, or fearful of other people because of where they come from, how they look, or how they pray," the President said.
Alex says he'll also introduce Omran to Omar, his friend at school, also from Syria.
"I will introduce him to Omar," Alex writes. "We can all play together. We can invite him to birthday parties and he will teach us another language. We can teach him English too, just like my friend Aoto from Japan."
During his plea, Alex offers to share his bike and his sister's white bunny since Omran won't have any toys.
Obama wondered aloud what a world filled with more Alex's would look like.
"We should all be more like Alex. Imagine what the world would look like if we were," he added.
Below, you can read Alex's full letter:
Dear President Obama,
Remember the boy who was picked up by the ambulance in Syria? Can you please go get him and bring him to [my home]? Park in the driveway or on the street and we will be waiting for you guys with flags, flowers, and balloons. We will give him a family and he will be our brother. Catherine, my little sister, will be collecting butterflies and fireflies for him. In my school, I have a friend from Syria, Omar, and I will introduce him to Omar. We can all play together. We can invite him to birthday parties and he will teach us another language. We can teach him English too, just like my friend Aoto from Japan.
Please tell him that his brother will be Alex who is a very kind boy, just like him. Since he won't bring toys and doesn't have toys Catherine will share her big blue stripy white bunny. And I will share my bike and I will teach him how to ride it. I will teach him additions and subtractions in math. And he [can] smell Catherine's lip gloss penguin which is green. She doesn't let anyone touch it.
Thank you very much! I can't wait for you to come!
Alex
6 years old
