By Shawn Moran, Sun Devil Athletics' Feature Writer (updated 11/27/18 at 8:04 p.m.)
TEMPE, Ariz. – Growing up on the streets of Iraq and then in Jordan and Syria, Noor Almusahwi learned to fend for himself. Even if it meant he had to fight to put a few extra dollars in his pocket, there was money and respect to be made.
In a betting game of soccer he played as a child, where two boys competed to see who would score the first goal, he was the enforcer: If losers did not pay up, Almusahwi taught them a lesson with his fists.
During Almusahwi's childhood in Iraq, brutality – from the government and from warring factions – was accepted as a part of everyday life. In Jordan and Syria, he faced discrimination.
Since moving to the United States eight years ago when he was 14, Almusahwi has looked for different ways to express his physicality and release the tension and anger that built up inside of him throughout his childhood in the Middle East.
But all of that is now behind him. These days, he spends much of his time on the wrestling mat, improving his skills and perfecting his technique he began learning in high school.
"I don't really have time for myself except for when I go to practice," Almusahwi said. "When I go to practice, I feel free. I get to do something that I love."
Since transferring to ASU from Modesto Junior College in California, 100 miles east of San Francisco, Almusahwi has been immersing himself in his new surroundings. He keeps himself busy practicing daily with the Top-10 ranked Sun Devil wrestling program and has also loaded up his class schedule with more than 28 credit hours in the fall semester -- in which he currently holds a 3.9 GPA after finishing with a 4.04 last spring.
Almusahwi is now a senior at ASU and believed to be the first refugee ever to be part of its wrestling team. He fits the physical description of a wrestler: short and muscular. A pair of dark sweatpants and a maroon and gold ASU hoodie mask his athletic physical traits.
In his spare time, he jogs and works on his homework and other research he is conducting, on politics and rights for refugees. Last summer, he was an intern for the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute's Foster Youth Internship Program in Washington, D.C., tailored to people like him, who spent his formative years in the United States's foster care system.
"While all of our interns are unique and come from a diverse range of backgrounds, Noor stood out because of his resilience and determination to use his own personal story to help others understand the impact of a policy that he experienced first-hand," said intern supervisor Allan Rodriguez. "He overcame a difficult set of circumstances early in his life and his success is a testament to his perseverance."
While working on Capitol Hill, Almusahwi wrote a policy report titled "Connecting Unaccompanied Refugee Minors with Culturally-Competent Foster Families and Comprehensive Support Services." He wants young refugees to live a life that is better than the life they have left behind, just like he is living a better life.
"A common misconception regarding refugee resettlement is that it is a one-sided obligation charitably extended to those in need," Almusahwi writes in his policy report. "However, when child refugees experience caring, culturally-competent foster families and access to education and other supports, they become engaged, productive citizens."
Almusahwi could have never contributed his ideas and pushed for reform while growing up in Iraq. It was too dangerous to go against an authoritarian regime – he knows it.
"I've seen a lot of crazy things," Almusahwi sighed as he began to tell his story.
Almusahwi does not know who his real mother is. When he was growing up in Iraq, his father had four wives. It was never made clear to him which one of them gave birth to him. The woman he has always called his mother is who he moved to the United States with.
Almusahwi's father was around when he was a young boy. But one day, he said, that all changed.
Saddam Hussein had been the president of Iraq for almost 24 years when the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. During his reign, Iraq became filled with tension and violent thug groups.
On a torrid day in his home country, a group of armed men kidnapped his father. He would never see him again.
"That was a turning point where I really started growing up on the streets by myself. My mother didn't know how to handle me and I was on my own," Almusahwi said.
When the American troops entered Iraq, there was a huge commotion between citizens in the city. Most went outside and watched the large, armored vehicles roll slowly and boisterously down the streets. Some stayed inside, wary of the soldiers and their true goals.
Almusahwi was intrigued by the enormous vehicles and by the friendly faces of the soldiers who were trying to ease tension by throwing chocolates to the people, a popular treat with the citizens of any nation. When Almusahwi caught a piece of chocolate and went to eat it, as any child would, it was promptly smacked out of his hand by a cautious family member.
"We do not trust them," the relative said. "We do not know what they want."
Not long after the soldiers' arrival, Almusahwi and the woman he called mother decided to flee the country. Together, they traveled to Jordan, and then to Syria. But not being a Syrian citizen made him and others who had also escaped there from other countries a target of extremists.
"People came around and burnt all of the cars that were owned by Iraqis or had Iraqi license plates," Almusahwi said of his time in Damascus. "They burnt them all across Syria. They burnt all the shops that were owned by Iraqis, all the restaurants. It was insane."
During his time in Syria, while always trying to avoid the racial and religious conflict, Almusahwi found safe haven at a running track. While it was not always wrestling, Almusahwi has always been an athlete and excelled in athletic competition. He became the third-ranked runner in his age group in Syria, all while running barefoot along a rugged track.
"My conditions were a lot better than other kids, but if you compare it to our American values, the conditions were really, really bad," Almusahwi said. "I had warts on my feet. I remember the longest I went was something like eight or nine months with no shower."
Most Syrian citizens are Sunni Muslims, but their president, Bashar al-Assad, is a practicing Alawi. This creates tension between the head of the government and the nation's citizens. In recent years, numerous missile strikes against ISIS and even a chemical gas attack has been used to essentially destroy the nation. After the missile attacks and the civil war that broke out as ISIS moved to control the country, much of Syria was destroyed and Almusahwi realized that it was no longer safe to be there.
In the early 2010's, Almusahwi, his mother and two sisters were granted asylum and were sent to live in California. It is here where Almusahwi's life began to drastically change, beginning with the event that would get him kicked out of school but also find him a new home.
Because he was a new student of a different race and background, some students at Almusahwi's high school resorted to bullying. At first, Almusahwi would get very defensive and would not hesitate to scrap with somebody who said something negative about him or his family. That was until the school's young wrestling coach Fernando Flanagan, by the insistence of the school's principal, stepped in to gauge if Almusahwi had any interest in wrestling.
"You could tell that he had a lot of anger built up in him at that time," Flanagan said. "I didn't have to do anything to get him in the wrestling room. As soon as he got in there, he wasn't afraid to wrestle anybody. Other wrestlers, coaches, me… it didn't matter, he was whooping everyone's ass."
While working two jobs and attending high school full-time, Almusahwi would show up to school in the morning groggy and irritable. When one student decided to bring up Almusahwi's sister in an argument, all bets were off. Almusahwi's actions in response to the bullying ended up getting him kicked out of school and, eventually, his mother's house.
"I ended up going to his mother to see if she would release him to me so that he could come and live with me while he finished school," Flanagan said. "She eventually did and Noor went to live with my parents."
In the ensuing years, Almusahwi became the top-ranked wrestler in the state of California and now finds himself on the mat against some of the top-ranked wrestlers in the nation. Now in his senior season as a Sun Devil, Almusahwi has been overachieving since his high school graduation, according to Flanagan.
"He continues to impress me," Flanagan said. "I never thought he would be the top wrestler in the state, but he did that. I didn't see him going to a program like ASU, but he did that too. I have absolutely no idea where his work ethic comes from but he has continued to impress me."
After beginning his life in a place many Americans cannot fathom, Almusahwi has set up his new home in Tempe. A past filled with anger, resentment and violence has been replaced by Almusahwi's determination to succeed and controlled violence on the wrestling mat. Whether it be in the Middle East or just outside of Phoenix, Almusahwi hopes people of the world can find common ground.
"People just want to live," Almusahwi said. "No matter where you are, no matter what country you live in, people just want to live and have a good life."
After his wrestling career is over, Almusahwi plans to attend law school and start a career in politics.
But for now, he's on the mat in the Sun Devil wrestling room, wearing a gray t-shirt, black shorts and black adidas wrestling shoes, enjoying every bit of this moment in his life. The gold wall behind him is plastered with large maroon letters representing the "NCAA CHAMPIONS" of 1988, still the only team west of the Rockies to win a national championship in wrestling.
Standing on the mat emblazoned with the maroon and gold, Almusahwi engages his opponent in a sparring session where his relentlessness -- and passion -- is put on display. With veins protruding from his arms and legs, Almusahwi waits for the perfect moment to attack. After lunging at his opponent's legs, lifting him over his shoulder and taking him to the mat, Almusahwi touches his forehead to the mat exhausted from the moves that he just made. After a few brief seconds, he gets up and does it again.
There's no denying, in all aspects of life, Noor Almusahwi continues to impress.
TEMPE, Ariz. – Growing up on the streets of Iraq and then in Jordan and Syria, Noor Almusahwi learned to fend for himself. Even if it meant he had to fight to put a few extra dollars in his pocket, there was money and respect to be made.
In a betting game of soccer he played as a child, where two boys competed to see who would score the first goal, he was the enforcer: If losers did not pay up, Almusahwi taught them a lesson with his fists.
During Almusahwi's childhood in Iraq, brutality – from the government and from warring factions – was accepted as a part of everyday life. In Jordan and Syria, he faced discrimination.
Since moving to the United States eight years ago when he was 14, Almusahwi has looked for different ways to express his physicality and release the tension and anger that built up inside of him throughout his childhood in the Middle East.
But all of that is now behind him. These days, he spends much of his time on the wrestling mat, improving his skills and perfecting his technique he began learning in high school.
"I don't really have time for myself except for when I go to practice," Almusahwi said. "When I go to practice, I feel free. I get to do something that I love."
Since transferring to ASU from Modesto Junior College in California, 100 miles east of San Francisco, Almusahwi has been immersing himself in his new surroundings. He keeps himself busy practicing daily with the Top-10 ranked Sun Devil wrestling program and has also loaded up his class schedule with more than 28 credit hours in the fall semester -- in which he currently holds a 3.9 GPA after finishing with a 4.04 last spring.
Almusahwi is now a senior at ASU and believed to be the first refugee ever to be part of its wrestling team. He fits the physical description of a wrestler: short and muscular. A pair of dark sweatpants and a maroon and gold ASU hoodie mask his athletic physical traits.
In his spare time, he jogs and works on his homework and other research he is conducting, on politics and rights for refugees. Last summer, he was an intern for the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute's Foster Youth Internship Program in Washington, D.C., tailored to people like him, who spent his formative years in the United States's foster care system.
"While all of our interns are unique and come from a diverse range of backgrounds, Noor stood out because of his resilience and determination to use his own personal story to help others understand the impact of a policy that he experienced first-hand," said intern supervisor Allan Rodriguez. "He overcame a difficult set of circumstances early in his life and his success is a testament to his perseverance."
While working on Capitol Hill, Almusahwi wrote a policy report titled "Connecting Unaccompanied Refugee Minors with Culturally-Competent Foster Families and Comprehensive Support Services." He wants young refugees to live a life that is better than the life they have left behind, just like he is living a better life.
"A common misconception regarding refugee resettlement is that it is a one-sided obligation charitably extended to those in need," Almusahwi writes in his policy report. "However, when child refugees experience caring, culturally-competent foster families and access to education and other supports, they become engaged, productive citizens."
Almusahwi could have never contributed his ideas and pushed for reform while growing up in Iraq. It was too dangerous to go against an authoritarian regime – he knows it.
"I've seen a lot of crazy things," Almusahwi sighed as he began to tell his story.
Almusahwi does not know who his real mother is. When he was growing up in Iraq, his father had four wives. It was never made clear to him which one of them gave birth to him. The woman he has always called his mother is who he moved to the United States with.
Almusahwi's father was around when he was a young boy. But one day, he said, that all changed.
Saddam Hussein had been the president of Iraq for almost 24 years when the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. During his reign, Iraq became filled with tension and violent thug groups.
On a torrid day in his home country, a group of armed men kidnapped his father. He would never see him again.
"That was a turning point where I really started growing up on the streets by myself. My mother didn't know how to handle me and I was on my own," Almusahwi said.
When the American troops entered Iraq, there was a huge commotion between citizens in the city. Most went outside and watched the large, armored vehicles roll slowly and boisterously down the streets. Some stayed inside, wary of the soldiers and their true goals.
Almusahwi was intrigued by the enormous vehicles and by the friendly faces of the soldiers who were trying to ease tension by throwing chocolates to the people, a popular treat with the citizens of any nation. When Almusahwi caught a piece of chocolate and went to eat it, as any child would, it was promptly smacked out of his hand by a cautious family member.
"We do not trust them," the relative said. "We do not know what they want."
Not long after the soldiers' arrival, Almusahwi and the woman he called mother decided to flee the country. Together, they traveled to Jordan, and then to Syria. But not being a Syrian citizen made him and others who had also escaped there from other countries a target of extremists.
"People came around and burnt all of the cars that were owned by Iraqis or had Iraqi license plates," Almusahwi said of his time in Damascus. "They burnt them all across Syria. They burnt all the shops that were owned by Iraqis, all the restaurants. It was insane."
During his time in Syria, while always trying to avoid the racial and religious conflict, Almusahwi found safe haven at a running track. While it was not always wrestling, Almusahwi has always been an athlete and excelled in athletic competition. He became the third-ranked runner in his age group in Syria, all while running barefoot along a rugged track.
"My conditions were a lot better than other kids, but if you compare it to our American values, the conditions were really, really bad," Almusahwi said. "I had warts on my feet. I remember the longest I went was something like eight or nine months with no shower."
Most Syrian citizens are Sunni Muslims, but their president, Bashar al-Assad, is a practicing Alawi. This creates tension between the head of the government and the nation's citizens. In recent years, numerous missile strikes against ISIS and even a chemical gas attack has been used to essentially destroy the nation. After the missile attacks and the civil war that broke out as ISIS moved to control the country, much of Syria was destroyed and Almusahwi realized that it was no longer safe to be there.
In the early 2010's, Almusahwi, his mother and two sisters were granted asylum and were sent to live in California. It is here where Almusahwi's life began to drastically change, beginning with the event that would get him kicked out of school but also find him a new home.
Because he was a new student of a different race and background, some students at Almusahwi's high school resorted to bullying. At first, Almusahwi would get very defensive and would not hesitate to scrap with somebody who said something negative about him or his family. That was until the school's young wrestling coach Fernando Flanagan, by the insistence of the school's principal, stepped in to gauge if Almusahwi had any interest in wrestling.
"You could tell that he had a lot of anger built up in him at that time," Flanagan said. "I didn't have to do anything to get him in the wrestling room. As soon as he got in there, he wasn't afraid to wrestle anybody. Other wrestlers, coaches, me… it didn't matter, he was whooping everyone's ass."
While working two jobs and attending high school full-time, Almusahwi would show up to school in the morning groggy and irritable. When one student decided to bring up Almusahwi's sister in an argument, all bets were off. Almusahwi's actions in response to the bullying ended up getting him kicked out of school and, eventually, his mother's house.
"I ended up going to his mother to see if she would release him to me so that he could come and live with me while he finished school," Flanagan said. "She eventually did and Noor went to live with my parents."
In the ensuing years, Almusahwi became the top-ranked wrestler in the state of California and now finds himself on the mat against some of the top-ranked wrestlers in the nation. Now in his senior season as a Sun Devil, Almusahwi has been overachieving since his high school graduation, according to Flanagan.
"He continues to impress me," Flanagan said. "I never thought he would be the top wrestler in the state, but he did that. I didn't see him going to a program like ASU, but he did that too. I have absolutely no idea where his work ethic comes from but he has continued to impress me."
After beginning his life in a place many Americans cannot fathom, Almusahwi has set up his new home in Tempe. A past filled with anger, resentment and violence has been replaced by Almusahwi's determination to succeed and controlled violence on the wrestling mat. Whether it be in the Middle East or just outside of Phoenix, Almusahwi hopes people of the world can find common ground.
"People just want to live," Almusahwi said. "No matter where you are, no matter what country you live in, people just want to live and have a good life."
After his wrestling career is over, Almusahwi plans to attend law school and start a career in politics.
But for now, he's on the mat in the Sun Devil wrestling room, wearing a gray t-shirt, black shorts and black adidas wrestling shoes, enjoying every bit of this moment in his life. The gold wall behind him is plastered with large maroon letters representing the "NCAA CHAMPIONS" of 1988, still the only team west of the Rockies to win a national championship in wrestling.
Standing on the mat emblazoned with the maroon and gold, Almusahwi engages his opponent in a sparring session where his relentlessness -- and passion -- is put on display. With veins protruding from his arms and legs, Almusahwi waits for the perfect moment to attack. After lunging at his opponent's legs, lifting him over his shoulder and taking him to the mat, Almusahwi touches his forehead to the mat exhausted from the moves that he just made. After a few brief seconds, he gets up and does it again.
There's no denying, in all aspects of life, Noor Almusahwi continues to impress.