‘It’s my home already’: Man who escaped violence in Syria opens Arab-food themed restaurant in Paterson

A man who escaped violence in the Middle East is celebrating a new chance at life in New Jersey.

News 12 Staff

Jan 10, 2022, 1:43 PM

Updated 1,080 days ago

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A man who escaped violence in the Middle East is celebrating a new chance at life in New Jersey.
Mohammed Hlal now owns a new Arab-food themed restaurant in Paterson. He and city officials cut the ribbon on it over the weekend.
Hlal fled Syria and now lives as a refugee from the war-torn country.
"I miss Syria of course but, it’s not a safe place for my kids,” says Hlal. “I don’t think about myself a lot, but my kids, I have four kids. American people here is very, very friendly, it’s my home already."
At least 13 million Syrians have been displaced since the country's civil war began nearly a dozen years ago.