'Don't jump': U.S. responds to plea of Iraqi teen
When teenager Ali Adil took to social media from his rooftop to vent about living conditions in Iraq and called on U.S. officials to help...
His video got more than 700,000 views on Facebook and Instagram, and a direct response from the U.S. state department.
"This is fire [gesturing to where audio of gunfire came from], it's not a problem, it is okay, this is normal. Biden, fire in hospital, the weather in Iraq is hot, no swimming, there is nothing. Biden, look for me, if you don't help me, I will jump on the street..."
The video was posted on July 15, and three days later Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Joey Hood responded in a mix of Arabic and English. Don't jump, he says:
"Hello. Dear Ali Adil, don't jump off the rooftop please. We in America love you..."
Life is precious, Hood goes on, and we can make it better together.
Adil told Reuters the appeal wasn't his first to a U.S. president: he'd called on Donald Trump, who didn't respond, and this was his fifth to Joe Biden.
In his videos, the 17-year-old addresses power-outages and a lack of internet among the many other day-to-day problems he faces, while kids his age in other countries can focus on their studies.
"It makes me happy when my voices reaches America and the [Acting Assistant] U.S. Secretary of State Joey Hood responds to me. I thank him, and thank God that my voice was heard. And God willing, I will visit the United States and share the details with you. God willing, we'll find a solution, with the help of the Iraqi government."
As of Thursday (July 22), Adil had more than 277,000 followers on Facebook and more than 95,000 on Instagram.
