How a Syrian refugee is recreating his 'American Dream' for the next generation

CLARKSTON, Ga. – This 1.4 square mile of Georgia where 60 languages are spoken is referred to as “The Ellis Island of the South.”

Since the Refugee Act of 1980 was signed, Clarkston has taken in more than 40,000 refugees from around the world.

It’s a place that proves your past does not determine your future, and kindness and community can lead to more than ever imagined.

This rings true for cardiology fellow and Syrian refugee Dr. Heval Kelli.

“If it wasn't for Clarkston, the people of Clarkston or the people who helped me in Clarkston, I wouldn't be where I am today,” Kelli says. “You won the lottery if you came here as a refugee in this country, and you are blessed if you landed in Clarkston.”

Kelli refers to his time in this tiny pocket of the United States as his “American Dream.”

“I came here as a refugee, and I started washing dishes at eighteen years old, a high school senior. And now, fifteen years later, I'm one of the heart trainees at Emory University, which is one block away from the restaurant. That's the American Dream.”

He and his family fled Syria in 1996. They were targeted there because of their Kurdish ethnicity, and war threatened their livelihoods.

“When Syrians are trying to leave their country, they're leaving because they can't stay there. Same thing that happens in hurricane situations. If there's a hurricane coming, you can't just sit at your home. You've got to leave,” Kelli says. 

“So, if there's a bomb coming to your house, you've got to leave the country.”

He says leaving the home he loves was conflicting.

“Syria is a difficult place because it's my home, and I was a Kurd in Syria, a minority. It was a very complicated situation.”

Kelli arrived in the U.S. with his family shortly after 9/11. The country was on edge, and many people of the Muslim faith were scrutinized.

“My family is a Muslim Syrian-Kurdish family that came right after 9/11. I was eighteen, they put me in high school. I had to learn English, make friends and take care of my family and work for them because they were sick.”

Kelli knew he was destined for more than washing dishes. He earned scholarships and worked tirelessly to put himself through Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta and then on to Emory University as a cardiology fellow.

He took everything he learned from his experiences as a refugee in Clarkston and his journey through medical school and paid it forward.

“I almost gave up, but because of the great people of Clarkston and how they kept motivating me and coming to our home, it made us feel welcome,” he said.

The dishwasher-turned-heart doctor strives to pay that welcoming feeling forward with his mentorship program.

“I remember he came to my high school. He told us his story. His story is similar to mine, so I was like, 'Okay, this could be me in the future. If he can do it, I can do it, too,’ ” says Shams Waleed, a mentee from Kelli’s program, Young Physician’s Initiative.

Waleed hopes to follow in her mentor’s footsteps, and Kelli is supporting her every step of the way.

“It was so beneficial because we learned how to diagnose medical cases and also the process to apply for medical school. So, it was really helpful,” Waleed says.

Dr. Kelli is a fixture of the community he loves so dearly and says his past is what propels him into who he is today.

“The best thing that ever happened to my family is coming to the United States," he said. "The best job I ever had was being a dishwasher because it taught me there's better opportunity in life and taught me how to work very hard.”

Kelli is the subject of an independent documentary feature film currently in production. The film, "CLARKSTON," "aspires to rediscover the soul of America by examining it through the eyes of 'the other.' "

Local filmmakers are following Kelli on his pursuit to stop Islamophobia, change the narrative of refugees as victims to be pitied to survivors that help our communities thrive and build bridges across ethnic, cultural, and faith divides. In addition to making a film, the crew is taking the opportunity to train and hire refugees in Clarkston to equip them for careers in the booming Atlanta film industry.

You can learn more about the project here. 

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