LOUISVILLE, Ky. ― He was a vegetable farmer in Syria before the civil war forced the family of seven to flee.
She is a University of Louisville professor who lives on an unused 16-acre farm.
So when sociologist Patricia Gagne read in The Courier-Journal about Ahmed Al Tybawi, his wife and five children ― she decided to offer them free use of her Taylorsville farm.
“I would love to see the land be put to use. Making it available to a refugee family would be even better,” said Gagne, whose rustic home is decorated with books and a wood-burning stove.
Earlier this month, five months after resettling in Louisville, Al Tybawi and his eldest son walked over pastures, checking out fencing and perusing empty barns and tractors – happy to be in a familiar element.
Maybe, Gagne told Al Tybawi through an interpreter as she showed him around, he could start a business or create a large garden to work on the weekends.
It marked just the latest offer of help from Louisville-area residents for the more than 100 Syrian refugees who have landed in Louisville over the past year.
