Dream of Chapel Hill victim, Deah Barakat, comes true

Deah Barakat, one of three Muslim students killed in the Chapel Hill shooting in February, had a dream to provide free dental care to Syrian refugees in Turkey. Twenty of his classmates and his father went to Hatay's Reyhanlı district and realized the dream by giving them medial screenings and education



Deah Barakat with his wife and sister-in-law.Classmates of dental student Deah Bakarat, who was one of the three Muslim youth who lost their lives during an armed attack in North Carolina, are making Bakarat's dream came true. Before the attack, Bakarat dreamed of offering dental care to Syrian children who took refuge in Turkey.A total of 20 of Bakarat's classmates along with his family visited Al-Selam School where Syrian children are educated in Hatay's Reyhanlı district. The group first chatted with the school management and students, then the students underwent a medical screening.Speaking to an Anadolu Agency (AA) reporter, Bakarat's father, Namee Bakarat, said they came to Turkey to realize his son's dream and stressed they will undertake the dental care of Syrian children. Pointing out that they will stay in Turkey for some time and exam 1,500 children's dental health, he said: "I came to Reyhanlı to make my son's dream come true. We wish that he could be here, but unfortunately it could not happen." He also thanked everybody who supported the campaign.Cengiz Hazırlar, the coordinator of Al-Selam School, said he is grateful to those who are realizing the dream and memory of the late Bakarat.Bakarat, his 21-year-old wife Yusor Muhammed Ebu Salha and his 19-year-old sister-in-law Razan Muhammed were killed by Craig Stephen Hicks who shot them in the head on Feb. 10 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Following the incident, the ignorance of mainstream American media regarding the shooting and the authorities who avoided labeling the incident a hate crime received negative reactions from all over the world.A group of Syrian and American youth, including Bakarat, who studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, organized a project called "Refugee Smiles" before the shooting. The project's aim was to provide dental care to Syrian children in Turkey and hand out toothpaste and toothbrushes to them. The project has received huge support since.