Nearly 20K Ohioans from ‘banned’ countries

Dr. Mahmoud Dabbous, center, laughs as he and other local residents, including Dr. Gigi Sankary, left, and Ahmad Abbas, right, all originally from Syria celebrate together at the IHOP on Talmadge Road in West Toledo. A group of about 20 local residents, including many Syrian expatriates, meet weekly to get to know one another over coffee. Often they stay for hours, sometimes into the early morning, catching up with their new neighbors as they build community. On this particular Tuesday, the group was celebrating Dr. Dabbous’ news: he was cleared the begin the processes of certification to practice medicine in the U.S. Dr. Dabbous is general practitioner and Dr. Sankary is a dentist. Dr. Dabbous and Mr. Abbas have come America as an asylum-seekers, while Dr. Sankary is an American citizen, though her husband and children are not. The ongoing war in Syria has produced an international refugee crisis, and forced many of the country’s citizens to flee by other means, such as seeking asylum. The war has also divided families; Dr. Dabbous’ family continue to live in Syria, Dr. Sankary’s two adult daughters are stranded in Turkey and Mr. Abbas’ wife remains in Damascus. THE BLADE/KATIE RAUSCH