Trump's ban may keep ill doctor from telling siblings goodbye

Shari Rudavsky | The Indianapolis Star

Show Caption Hide Caption Spicer on travel ban: 'The system worked really well' Press Secretary Sean Spicer defended President Trump's immigration ban enforced over the weekend. Saying the appropriate people were told at the appropriate times and it 'actually worked really well.'

INDIANAPOLIS — After Morhaf Al Achkar learned he had lung cancer, he hoped that his siblings in Europe would visit him in the coming months as he battles the spreading disease. But this weekend the Indianapolis doctor learned he may not have the chance to say his farewells to some of his family in person.

Many of them are Syrian refugees, and they are subject to the immigration order that President Trump signed Friday. The order, aimed to counter terrorism, bans travelers from seven countries, including Syria, from entering the United States.

As confusion swirled about to whom the ban applied, Al Achkar wondered whether he would ever see his brothers and his sisters again.

“My pain is real. This uncertainty is painful,” said Al Achkar, 33, referring not to any physical discomfort but the sorrow this recent edict brought him. “For me it’s a matter of principle and basic rights. If family wants to see each other in these situations, they should be able to.”

About a decade ago, before the conflict in Syria began, Al Achkar came to the United States for postgraduate medical training. The youngest of nine, Al Achkar had seen some of his family leave for better professional opportunities abroad. But some of his family, including his father, remained behind in his native Aleppo.

Eventually Al Achkar became an American citizen. In 2012 he moved to Indiana, where he has been ever since as an assistant professor of clinical family medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Before his homeland erupted in civil war, he went to Syria a few times to visit.

In 2013, after two years of war in Syria, his father traveled from country to country until finally landing in Maryland, where he lives with his daughter, who like Al Achkar is a citizen. Another sister moved to California as a refugee. Al Achkar’s siblings all hold either medical or doctoral degrees.

This fall, Al Achkar noticed he had more difficulty breathing when he worked out and was strangely fatigued. Tests revealed he had advanced lung cancer, a type not associated with smoking. As a doctor, Al Achkar knows that doctors usually give patients in his situation four to 10 months to live.

His sisters in the United States hopped on a plane to visit. He then made a visit to see his father. His other siblings started making plans to visit.

One brother, a British citizen, had plans to come in a few weeks. Another brother, a refugee in the United Kingdom, is in limbo awaiting a visa application. Al Achkar has no idea whether either brother, even the British citizen who has a visa and ticket, will come.

Trump issued the new immigration ban late Friday, saying it is necessary to protect the United States from terrorists. The ban prohibits any Syrian refugees from coming here indefinitely, blocks people from six other Muslim-majority Middle East countries from coming here for at least 90 days, and suspends all refugee admissions for 120 days.

The ban sparked protests at airports across the country Saturday and Sunday.

For Al Achkar, who lives alone in downtown Indianapolis with his dog, Trump’s immigration policy has caused additional stress for a man who dedicated his life to caring for others. He considers himself a strong person placed in a difficult position.

“I am finding myself in one of the most vulnerable places where I am sharing intimate facts about my health and my struggle and my suffering,” he said. “This is not fair for somebody with an illness like my mine.”

Beyond his own condition, Al Achkar reflected on the broader message in a Facebook post.

“The attack on refugees, immigrants and Muslims is part of Trump’s war on the most vulnerable among us,” he wrote. “It also includes poor patients, the disabled and the different. But before all that is an attack on our values and on the moral and beautiful within us.”

Follow Shari Rudavsky on Twitter: @srudavsky