From Syria to America: One Family’s Story of Hope and Struggle

“In Syria, no place is safe.” These were the words uttered by Hazar Mansour when talking about the reason for her and her family fleeing Syria and embarking on a journey that eventually led them to Rutland, VT to find refuge from the civil war.

Mansour and her family fled Damascus, Syria in 2014 and came to America in 2017. They had many reasons to leave. One night her daughter was awoken by a bomb blowing up outside her window. Routinely they would be driving and hear gunshots going off. Even the driver would have to duck down to be safe. The government could not be trusted, and so for the safety of their family, Mansour and her husband Hussam Alhallak fled with their two young children to Turkey.

“It was the right choice for our children’s futures,” Alhallak said.

Once they moved to Turkey, they were there for two years, but faced many struggles when it came to finding a way to live. After arriving in Turkey, they found jobs but wages were a problem. ”It is not enough money for a livable salary,”Alhallak said.

However, there was some help from the Turkish government during Ramadan. The government would provide a free meal after sunset when the day’s fast was over. While they were in Turkey, they were waiting to hear if they would be allowed to go to the United States.

Once they heard that they were coming to America, they were ecstatic. “It was a dream come true to go to America,” Alhallak said.

Except there was one problem. They had been told they were going to Los Angeles but at the last minute that was changed to Rutland. Mamsour chuckled as she recalled having to buy winter clothes at the last minute to prepare for cold Vermont winters that they now know all too well.

Upon arriving in Rutland, they were greeted by current Rutland High School Principal Greg Schillinger, whom they stayed with for two weeks. Every morning they would be taught English by Schillinger over coffee and breakfast, and this greatly helped their progression in learning the language.

After about two weeks, Alhallak and Mansour and their children moved out of the Schillinger household and into an apartment in Rutland. Alhallak got a job at a bakery and noted that Schillinger regularly would come in to say hi and see how things were going.

Alhallak had been an accountant in Syria and wanted to continue to be one in America. Although Mansour was a French teacher in Syria, she decided to join him in getting an accounting certification as well. So after work everyday, Mansour and he would go to the Community College of Vermont (CCV) and study from five o’clock to nine o’clock.

Alhallak was very grateful for the help and motivation that his wife provided. “Hazar helped me very much,” Alhallak said.

One day, when Schillinger was stopping in, he offered Alhallak a part time job in the Rutland School District as an accountant. Alhallak worked both at the bakery and the school before his boss at the bakery connected him with someone at Casella’s, the local waste management company.

After his interview and a couple of weeks of waiting, Alhallak got the job at Casella’s and has been working full time as an accountant there ever since.

Ironically, Mansour now has Alhallak’s old job at the Rutland School District office and she loves the team that she works with.

“My boss is very good and very kind to me,” Mansour said.

They have three kids, two of whom were with them in Syria when they moved. Danyal is the first born American citizen and he is three years old. Their other two children are Layan, who is 14, and Mohammad, who is 12.

Mansour and Alhallak are both currently studying to become American citizens. This is especially important because their plan is to bring their family that is currently in Syria over to America once they are citizens. This comes as the conditions have worsened for Syrians.

Currently, Mansour’s mother and brother get two hours of electricity a day and water deliveries once a week.

"I keep my phone with me at all times in case [my mother] calls,” Mansour said.

These are the circumstances that both of their families are living under. This is why they are very driven to get their citizenship and bring them over.

“That is our dream, to bring them over to America,” Alhallak said as he described how important this is to them.

In July of 2020, they moved into a house that they helped build with the Habitat for Humanity organization in Rutland.

Even though Syria and America may seem like very different places, to Mansour and Alhallak they are not all that different, especially the people.

Mansour described it as, “When we meet people here, we feel like family.”

Despite differences in religion (Mansour and Alhallak are Muslims), they have not found it very different from Syria.

“People are accepting of our religion, they are very curious about our religion too,” Mansour said.

Based on their experience here, Mansour and Alhallak are very happy that Vermont will be welcoming 100 Afghan refugees. They have some important advice for the refugees coming over.

“Learn the language and make connections with the people here,” Mansour said. That formula has worked well for them.