ATLANTA — Hana Al-Bitar was visibly upset Wednesday as she stood at the podium inside the office of the Georgia Chapter of the Council for American-Islamic Relations to speak about her father.
Mohammad Samir Al-Bitar, 76, a retired businessman and Syrian national who lives in Damascus was recently diagnosed with a malignant melanoma in his eye. He previously visited Georgia in 2013, 2014 and 2015 on a non-immigrant visa to spend time with his daughter Bana, a school teacher in Roswell, his son-in-law, a mechanical engineer, and his four grandchildren. His visits along with his wife, Hana's mother, Hanan Assaf, were captured in photographs shared with Channel 2's Wendy Halloran.
"He did everything he can (to) make my kids happy. He spent hours and hours to make them happy, anything that (made) them happy or to have a nice memory with them," Al-Bitar says.
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In September, Al-Bitar received the bad news at a hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, where the doctor wrote that they could not offer the unique surgery her father needs. And further wrote that the medical treatment is not available in Syria or other Middle Eastern nations.
A letter provided to Channel 2 Action News written by Dr. Jill Wells. an ophthalmic oncologist at the Emory Eye Center, reveals the cancer as "choroidal melanoma" that requires special treatment not available in Syria. Hill wrote that it's critical for the elder Al-Bitar to undergo treatment soon before the cancer spreads. She further wrote that the only specialist that residing in Egypt, Dr. Saad Ihab Othman, is currently on medical leave. Hill wrote that she was scheduled to see Al-Bitar on Nov. 15. But that visit never happened. And here's why.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration imposed a travel ban on Syrian travelers. That ban was struck down but later reinstated by the United States Supreme Court.
After learning time was not on his side, Mohammad Al-Bitar applied for a visa on Sept. 20, but was denied by the State Department.
Edward Ahmed Mitchell, an attorney and the executive director of the Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, is helping the family.
Mitchell says Al-Bitar applied a second time for a visa with the help of a local elected official, CAIR is declining to name, but says the second application is still under review. He says the government is doing everything it’s supposed to with regards to the visa but Hill warned the cancer will spread if not treated now.
Mitchell says Al-Bitar filled out a DS-5535, which requires him to share information about any social media accounts, family members and past employment. That’s a new form the Trump administration is requiring of select immigrants after the Supreme Court reinstated the administration’s travel restrictions on Syrian immigrants.
Mitchell says the second visa application is undergoing “administrative processing.” But Al-Bitar desperately needs a special waiver. Without it, he cannot enter the United States.
His family is pleading with the Trump administration to grant that special waiver which would allow Al-Bitar to travel to Atlanta for the life-saving surgery.
Mitchell does not believe the Trump travel ban should apply to this particular situation.
"This is a classic example of a case in which the president’s travel ban should not apply. We have nothing to fear from a sick grandfather seeking medical treatment. He is not a threat to anyone. He is not a threat to national security, our national values demand that we help someone in this situation," Mitchell said.