After the creation of the independent state of Israel in May 1948, the Arab-Israeli War raged on the east shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Residents of neighboring nations took cover in fear.

In Damascus, the capital of Syria, a 6-year-old Riad Mahayni — now a professor in community and regional planning at Iowa State — took cover in his home.

His family dragged mattresses from the second level of their Damascene house to the lower level. It afforded them little protection, but was seen as the safest place in of their home.

“I remember having to go to sleep in a room that was more secure,” he said. “As a kid, you have to go to sleep early, and I was scared being alone.”

The distance between Damascus and Palestine-Israel is less than the distance from Iowa City to Ames, Mahayni said.

“I remember planes coming over as part of the war,” Mahayni said. “As a kid you get the sense of danger. Everyone had that feeling, so kids pick it up.”

The tumultuous Middle East is where Mahayni spent the first 19 years of his life, before traveling to the United States to attend college in Oregon. He never returned to Damascus for permanent residence.

He remembers the war that broke out in 1956 when Egypt was invaded by Israel, Britain and France, and he watched from across the ocean as Israel invaded the southern tip of his own homeland in 1967 when he was at college. But to begin it all, he remembers the fight for Israel, which started earlier than the official creation of the country in 1948.

His experiences are inconceivable to the average American child, who at age six is beginning school and making friends on the playground or playing with Transformers and Barbies.

Events occurring in the region made children in Middle Eastern countries more politically aware than other children might be, Mahayni said.

“Part of childhood in the Middle East and especially Syria—during that time much more than now—is that politics plays a key role in your daily life,” Mahayni said. “It sobers you up; it ages you in a way. I was always accused of being older than my age, ever since I was a teenager.”

Mahayni gave the example that he remembers participating in a demonstration in the streets of Damascus, protesting against the French hijacking the planes of five leaders of the Algerian revolution for independence in 1956.

The fear felt during the war for Israel later turned to patriotism—and even a sense of defiance—during the invasion of Egypt in 1956, he said.

Mahayni said ordinary people were training to use military equipment. Syria, which was under fire in some of its coastal regions, was worried it might be invaded after Egypt.

“It would not be surprising that if they were very successful that they would move the other way too,” he said.

Syria, though, was never invaded. French, British and Israeli troops withdrew from Egyptian territory. U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was instrumental in getting to the troops to pull back, Mahayni said.

The conflict brought Syria and Egypt closer together, and in 1958 the two nations formed the United Arab Republic. The republic collapsed in 1961, the same year Mahayni left Syria for higher education in the United States. He did not return to the country for six-and-a-half years, and when he did, the country was again in conflict with Israel.

In 1967, Israel invaded Syria’s Golan Heights and Mahayni had difficulties communicating with his family in Syria. Phone calls were expensive and had to be reserved almost a month in advance, he said.

It was extremely difficult to be in the United States during the war, he said. Golan Heights is only 20 to 30 miles from Damascus, and Israeli troops were within 15 miles of the capital city, he said.

Tamim Mahayni, Mahayni’s younger son, said in Syrian culture there is more emphasis on family. His father still keeps in touch with distant cousins.

Life for children was very family oriented, Riad said. In the area where he lived in Damascus, more than 100 of his family lived there, including fifth, sixth and even seventh cousins.

“There’s a lot more emphasis on family there,” said Tamim, freshman in liberal arts and sciences.

Riad was able to return to Syria in 1968. Seeing his family again “was like a dream.”

Basil Mahayni, Riad’s older son, said he could never understand what it is like to be in war.

“It’s something I don’t think I could ever comprehend; I don’t think any of us will ever understand,” he said.

Troops fighting in Iraq can understand, but average Americans have never experienced anything on their own soil, with the exception of Pearl Harbor and Sept. 11, said Basil, junior in political science.

“Everything is essentially Hollywood for us, but for the rest of the world it’s reality,” he said.

Although he knows his childhood experiences have affected him, Riad said it is hard to verbalize. The effects cannot be isolated, he said.

“In a way you lose part of your childhood because you are made aware of issues that a child should not really worry about,” Riad said. “Children should not be exposed to the ugly side of life until they are a least able to stand on their own two feet.”

Riad said some of the experiences he went through would be shocking or dramatic for a high school kid to endure.

“It’s a bit of a loss of innocence,” he said.

Present-day Syria in the news

In November, President Bush called on nations in the Middle East to become more democratic to end the economic stagnation and violence in the region.

“Dictators in Iraq and Syria promised the restoration of national honor, a return to ancient glories. They’ve left instead a legacy of torture, oppression, misery and ruin,” Bush said Nov. 6.

In response, Syrian officials voiced their disapproval of Bush’s policies in the Middle East.

“[The policies will cause] a bigger suffering to the region’s peoples, widen the gap between the U.S. and the whole world, and also threaten international peace and security,” said Buthayan Shaaban, Syrian minister of immigrant affairs.

Riad does not disagree.

“[U.S.] foreign policy leaves a lot to be desired,” he said.

Syria has been in the news lately because of accusations involving Syrians participating in attacks on U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Riad said it does not shock him.

“You have the whole political spectrum in many of those countries. I would not be surprised that some of them are participating in such activities, but to say that is the whole country — no it’s not,” Riad said.

To Tamim, those who use violence are not representative of Syria and its people. Syria is a place Tamim holds close to his heart.

“Arabs don’t have evil intentions as perceived,” he said. “The Arabs who do resort to violence are not the majority. It’s not a majority at all. It’s an overwhelming minority that resorts to violence.”

The American-hating, terrorist-dwelling view of Syria isn’t correct either, Basil said.

“I fear everyone hears Syria is sponsoring terrorism, but to me, that’s where my family is,” he said.

After the initiation of the war on Iraq last spring, Basil and Tamim said they were concerned the Unites States might attack Syria next.

“America ripped through Iraq — they would rip through Syria a lot easier,” Tamim said.

Basil said he doubts any U.S. action against Syria will occur now, due to the results of the operation.

“I don’t think they are going to go through this again,” he said.

Basil and Tamim went with Riad and their mother, Fatina Mahayni, an architect from Damascus, in 1994 to live in Syria for seven months.

Basil and Tamim were not happy to go.

“In high school I wanted to be like everyone else — your all-American kid,” Basil said.

Tamim said they tried to not enjoy themselves while living in Damascus.

“We made it so we didn’t enjoy ourselves,” said Tamim, who was born in Damascus. “We did enjoy ourselves but we were desperately trying not to. Now I’d give anything to go back.”

Basil and Tamim cannot currently return to Syria because their dual citizenship would require them to register in Syria’s draft.

Riad said the draft is one of the region’s problems.

Like Bush, Riad sees only democracy as a way to quell the violence in the Middle East.

“The only way, which is going to take quite a bit of time to control terrorism, is through democracy,” Riad said. “Democratic initiations that will allow people to say what they want to say in the public arena.”

— The Associated Press contributed to this article.