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Roswell family begging Trump to allow cancer-stricken relative into US

Mohammad Samir Al-Bitar has a cancerous eye tumor.
Mohammad Samir Al-Bitar with his family. Image CAIR

A Roswell family is appealing to the Trump administration to allow a cancer-stricken relative entry into the U.S. for medical treatment.

Mohammad Samir Al-Bitar is a 76-year-old Syrian citizen and retired businessman who lives in Damascus with his wife. His daughter, Hana Al-Bitar, is a teacher who lives in Roswell with her husband, a mechanical engineer.

Al-Bitar, who visited Georgia in 2013, 2014, and 2015 to spend time with his grandchildren, was recently diagnosed with a cancerous eye tumor. The tumor requires a unique medical treatment that is unavailable in Syria or surrounding Middle Eastern nations.

However, Emory Eye Care Center, according to the Georgia chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, is willing to offer the procedure.

Al-Bitar’s first application for a visa to return to the United States for medical treatment was denied by the State Department, so he applied a second time with assistance from CAIR Georgia and a local elected official. That application is now undergoing review.

"I beg President Trump to let my father come back to Georgia so that doctors can treat his cancer," said Hana Al-Bitar. "This has nothing to do with politics or security. This is about family. Mr. President, please don't let my father die like this."

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