Where are you from?
I was born and raised in a small city, Madaba-Jorda, 25 miles south the capital Amman. Madaba, the city of the churches, where there are a lot of old churches, especially my church, ST. George church, which it is very famous with the mosaic map it has, where tourists all over the world come to see it, and I named my son, George after it.
What was it like growing up?
I graduated from school of dentistry in Amman-Jordan, where I met my beautiful wife there, then we started our journey together. We both worked in Jordan and KSA, then we decided to move to USA the land of freedom and equal opportunity to pursue our post-graduate education and have a better quality of life.
Why did you #Choose CLE (What brought you to Cleveland?)?
When I first moved to USA, I spent one year in LA-CA, the city of the dreams, but I have better opportunities in CLeveland, and I do believe that Cleveland is a better place to raise our family.
What were your first thoughts about coming to America? Did those change?
“Home is not just the place where you born, its the place where you become yourself”
“We do not choose our mother, but we love our mother no matter what, but we choose our wives”
We wanted to move to the land of the freedom and opportunities, which I do believe that USA is.
What challenges did you face as an immigrant transitioning here?
I moved from small city, where all people know each other, to a large city where the population in it more than my whole country. Also the cultural and tradition difference played a big role in adapting to the new life we have here.
What is your occupation?
I’m a dentist, I worked in Jordan and KSA and I worked about nine years in in the MetroHealth Medical Center, and currently I’m partner owner in three dental offices in Cleveland area, where we serve the community the best we can.
How have other Clevelanders made you feel welcomed?
In the beginning it was hard, because we did not know many people around us, but with time we feel Cleveland is our home although we do not have immediate family here.
What traditions or customs do you continue to practice?
The Jordanian community in Cleveland is very small, but still we keep some of our traditions, especially regarding our main dish, The Mansaf in certain occasions.
What do you love about Cleveland?
Cleveland became our new home, White Christmas was a dream since I was small kid and it became true here! The thing I like most to do in Cleveland is drinking my favorite coffee from starbucks and watching the sunset on lake Erie.
Why is it so important to welcome immigrants and refugees?
I do believe that help our city in various ways like diversity, more cultural traditions and customs, and I believe that will help our city in all aspects.
What suggestions do you have to make Cleveland a more welcoming community?
In general Cleveland is very welcoming community, but we can put some more efforts through the various diverse communities we have to facilitate and improve the opportunities for well qualified people to move in our city.
