US teenager resting after runaway trip to Iraq

FRESH from his unauthorised odyssey to Iraq, American teen Farris Hassan had a steak dinner and a night of seclusion, but he won't be going out with friends just yet, his mother said yesterday.

Inspired by a high school journalism class, 16-year-old Farris journeyed to Iraq on his own so he could immerse himself in the lives of its citizens.

He returned safely to Florida on Sunday, dodging throngs of reporters and photographers.

His mother, Shatha Atiya, said yesterday outside her Fort Lauderdale home: "I'm just extremely happy he's home safe. We're going to sit down and discuss the consequences."

She said Farris wanted to see his friends, but she told him he can't do that yet.

Farris smiled and waved to reporters Sunday before he was whisked into seclusion. "I do want to tell you how flattered I am. The media has been very, very kind to me," the teen told the Associated Press by phone from his father's car.

His story became known after he contacted the AP in Baghdad last week.

He was scheduled to return to his exclusive private school today, but administrators first want to meet with him and his parents.

Farris was able to secure an entry visa for Iraq because his parents were born there, though they've been in the United States for more than three decades. He took his US passport and $1,800 in cash when he left December 11, but didn't tell his family what he was doing until he arrived in Kuwait.

He had thought he would be able to take a taxi from Kuwait into Baghdad for the December 15 parliamentary elections, but the border was closed for voting. He stayed with family friends in Lebanon before flying to Baghdad on December 25.

In Iraq, he stayed at an international hotel along with other Americans, drawing a crowd at a Baghdad food stand after using an Arabic phrase book to order.

Last Tuesday, Farris contacted the Baghdad AP bureau and related his story.

Farris left Baghdad on Friday, as US Consul General Richard B Hermann reiterated State Department warnings against travelling to Iraq. Forty American citizens have been kidnapped since the war started in March 2003.

While in Iraq, Farris said he thought a trip to the Middle East was a healthy vacation compared with a trip to Colorado for skiing.

"You go to, like, the worst place in the world and things are terrible," he said. "When you go back home you have such a new appreciation for all the blessing you have there, and I'm just going to be, like, ecstatic for life."