Family affair
The current conflict in the Middle East brings back memories for Mazen Abou-Antoun, 22, and Sawsan Abou-Antoun, 21, of Parma, who escaped from Lebanon during the country's civil war in 1989.
As a hired driver made his way to the Jordanian border at that time,
the sister and brother at ages 8 and 9 could sense the fear of their mother,
see soldiers and tanks and hear the exploding bombs in the distance. But
they could not fully understand the dire situation as they headed into
the mountains for safety, only to find themselves on the frontlines of
the conflict. 
As young adults, they now appreciate the dangers involved in their escape to Jordan and what asylum in the United States means.
CWRU's commencement will be a brother-and-sister affair for the two, who not only received their high school diplomas from Valley Forge High School at the same time four years ago, but will graduate together May 19.
Mazen will receive a B.A. in economics with a minor in political science and his sister, Sawsan, a B.A. in communication science and political science with a minor in English.
They never intended to go to the same university, but as the college acceptance letters arrived and as they found that after traveling back and forth between the United States and Lebanon, they wanted to be close to their family and each other.
"At the ages of 22, we have experienced more than others have in their lifetimes," Mazen said.
Once on campus, the two became active in Model UN and the Middle Eastern Club, where Sawsan recently put her writing and choreographing skills to work to produce the club's annual dinner and play.
Mazen had some obstacles to overcome when he first arrived on campus.
With only 5 percent of his eye sight remaining, he had to memorize the campus with the aid of a mobility coach. He can see light, shapes and shadows but little else.
In addition to his mobility coach, he credits his fraternity brothers at Phi Delta Theta as a source of support.
"I would not have made it through school without them," Mazen said. His fraternity brothers helped by taking notes, reading aloud assignments and studying with him for tests.
Susan Sampson, a specialist at CWRU's Educational Support Services, also helped with recording, test taking, linking him to state and national services and finding other equipment to aid the visually impaired, including Zoomtext, which enables him to use e-mail.
"School has been an interesting experience with vision problems," he said.
In one example, Mazen said he walked across campus at 10 a.m. to return the same way that afternoon only to find construction had started on a project and blocked his way. Another time, he accidentally walked into a different construction site—one with sewage.
Other times, he would miss notes on classroom doors that courses had changed locations or were cancelled-and would only realize it 20 minutes later when no one showed up for the class. But most of his experiences at CWRU has been positive, especially because of the small classes and access to faculty members.
Despite some of the obstacles, Mazen's perseverance has impressed faculty, including Laura Tartakoff from the department of political science, who describe him as "an inspiration" and joy to have in class.
Mazen currently is considering where to attend law school—George Washington University or the University of Southern California—both of which have accepted him. He eventually hopes to pursue economic development issues through the Foreign Service or in an organization such as the World Bank.
Sawsan, who wants to pursue a writing career, undertook an internship at Cleveland Magazine while at CWRU. She had the opportunity to write about suburban sprawl. If the Arab-Israeli situation calms down, she hopes to travel to South Lebanon this summer to record footage and write a documentary on the Palestinian refugee camps and travel to the West Bank in Israel. She has received a Pancoast Fellowship for summer study abroad from CWRU.
"Now that I am a graduate, I want to do something to help," Sawsan said.
During Mazen's junior year abroad experience in Australia, one of his friendships developed into a marriage proposal. In December, he returned to Australia and surprised his family by secretly eloping with his wife, Tamara, who had just graduated from the University of Melbourne. Mazen met Tamara two summers ago during a summer camp experience in Lebanon and the friendship evolved into love over the years. He planned his Australian experience to get to know her better.
After finding a research position in the department of neurology at the Cleveland Clinic, Tamara joined Mazen in Cleveland February 13.
