Al-Dubai, who speaks five languages, was a teen-aged high school graduate in Eritrea, East Africa, working to earn money for college, when his soccer skills and intellect caught the eye of a Peace Corps volunteer; Rick Beal, who now lives in Marietta with his wife, Thyda Teng. Al-Dubai says he played on the national team in Yemen and was selected for the Eritrea national team, before war broke out. Beal says the young man was bright and talented, and he thought soccer could open doors for him in the U.S. Beal did more than encourage him to aim for the U.S., Al-Dubai says, Beal made it happen. He and his family sponsored Al-Dubai to come here, opened their home to him when he arrived and paid his way to OCC. Beal is now assistant dean of educational outreach at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
Yemen resident Abdulilah Al-Duba caught the eye of a Peace Corps volunteer Rick Beal
Syracuse refugee gives back at North Side Learning Center
By Maureen Nolan / The Post-Standard
November 12, 2009, 5:00AM
Caption: Abdulilah Al-Dubai of Syracuse teaches the present progressive tense during an English class at the new North Side Learning Center on North McBride Street last week. The class meets three times a week for ten weeks, and like the other classes at the center, is made possible by tutors who volunteer their time. Seated in the foreground is Hadi Saleh of Syracuse with his nine-month-old daughter, Maria. Photo: Lauren Long / The Post-Standard
Abdulilah Al-Dubai made it to the U.S. from Yemen five years ago thanks to his soccer skills, intellect and a family that befriended him.
In those five years, Al-Dubai, now 29, attended Onondaga Community College and went on to win a full soccer scholarship to LeMoyne College. He graduated in 2008 with a degree in business administration. He recently married and works part time with the refugee program of the Islamic Society of Central New York.
And he volunteers to teach English to refugees at the new North Side Learning Center.
Al-Dubai, who speaks five languages, was a teen-aged high school graduate in Eritrea, East Africa, working to earn money for college, when his soccer skills and intellect caught the eye of a Peace Corps volunteer; Rick Beal, who now lives in Marietta with his wife, Thyda Teng.
Al-Dubai says he played on the national team in Yemen and was selected for the Eritrea national team, before war broke out.
Beal says the young man was bright and talented, and he thought soccer could open doors for him in the U.S. Beal did more than encourage him to aim for the U.S., Al-Dubai says, Beal made it happen.
He and his family sponsored Al-Dubai to come here, opened their home to him when he arrived and paid his way to OCC. Beal is now assistant dean of educational outreach at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
Al-Dubai's determination got him here, too.
He was in Eritrea when war broke out and he desperately wanted to escape Eritrea and get to Yemen, where he could take an English test that was part of his plan to get a U.S. education, and to avoid being drafted into the army like his brother.
The only way to get out of Eritrea and into Yemen, he says, was to find a fisherman who agreed to take him across the Red Sea in a two-person boat. A storm hit midway.
"I say to myself ;'This is it, I mean, I';m gone.' It took us 17 to 19 hours instead of four to get there. I had to bail," Al-Dubai said.
He risked more than drowning when he escaped.
"If he got caught, he might have been shot. Executed," Beal said.
Al-Dubai said it took six years of work by Beal for him to get to the U.S.
When a group of volunteers came together to create the North Side Learning Center, Al-Dubai got involved.
He now teaches intermediate English. It's part of giving back.
"When I came here, the generosity I found from Dr. Rick and his wife and his family, something beyond the imagination. I never felt like I'm a stranger, never. I was just in my house. I thought; 'I have to help someone someday because somebody helped me out. I have to do this,'"; he said.
When Al-Dubai got a work study job as a student at LeMoyne, he started to send a portion of his pay to a poor family in Yemen to help the parents send their five children to school. Al-Dubai was giving back even in Eritrea, Beal said.
"Even though he was working as a teacher in the day and in the evenings he was a shopkeeper, he still was a volunteer soccer coach," he said.
Metro news of note
Students from the Syracuse school district will display their accomplishments in the annual "Reaching for the Stars" showcase from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Oncenter.
The event is happening in tandem with the second annual "Youth Day Fair," organized by community activist Mary Nelson. The fair offers information about health, careers, education and other topics.
The school district is providing free shuttle buses to the Oncenter from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m. from Henninger, Nottingham, Fowler and Corcoran high schools and from the district offices at 725 Harrison St.
For information, call the district Parent Partnership Network at 435-4845.
Friends will hold a benefit Saturday for Gwen Lawson,, owner of Ruby's Soul Food, at 4418 S. Salina St. The restaurant, named for her mother, reopened about a month ago after being closed for three years, Lawson said.
Lawson said she is behind on her taxes for the building and the fundraiser is to help pay the taxes and for other expenses.
The benefit, which costs $10, will take place from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Mary Nelson Youth Center, 2849 S. Salina St.
It's time, believe it or not, for people who live in the 13205 ZIP code, to sign up for Christmas gifts given to children 10 and younger at the South Side Tree Lighting Ceremony Dec. 7.
Families who live in the 13205 ZIP code are eligible to sign up for a gift. The ceremony was founded by the late Charles Dozier III, a Southside businessman who died in 2000.
The ceremony also includes the awarding of a $500 Charles Dozier III Memorial Scholarship. High school counselors are supposed to have applications for the scholarships. The applications must be postmarked or submitted no later than Nov. 25.
"Planning Ahead," a free workshop about health care proxies and livings wills, will take place at 11 a.m. Sunday at Tucker Missionary Baptist Church, 515 Oakwood Ave.
The Iota Nu Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority is sponsoring the workshop.
Contact Maureen Nolan at 470-2185 or mnolan@syracuse.com
