Mousilli
My Family
Basim Mousilli wrote this family research assignment in college, at eighteen. It is kept word for word; a few passages are left out for the family's privacy, marked […].
The short version
A college essay Basim wrote in February 2001 about where his family comes from.
His father Fayez came to Houston as an accomplished engineer; his name means the winner.
Kept word for word, with a few private passages left out.
- What is the culture and ethnic background of your family of origin
- Why did your family move to the United States
- Describe how your family arrived in the United States. Where does your family live
- Who are your grandparents
- Who are your parents
- List your siblings. What stands out most about each, and what role does each play in the family
- Give a favorite family story that illustrates the character of your family.
What is the culture and ethnic background of your family of origin? How long has your family been in the United States?
My family is from Damascus, Syria, an Arabic country in the Middle East. My mother and father came to the United States shortly after getting married on the basis of a job appeal for my father. My father, Fayez Mousilli, was an accomplished electrical engineer of his time, as he excelled in his field of study. Thus, he was awarded a visa to work abroad in America. To date, our family has been in the United States for twenty-one years.
Why did your family move to the United States? What events might have led them to decide to leave their home country?
As mentioned above, my father decided to move to the United States because he saw ahead of him a lucrative job position in which he hoped to secure a financially stable future. Some of the background factors that influenced my father to move to the United States included the volatility of our country’s government, the rags-to-riches promise of America, and the prospect of a promising educational experience for his future children.
Describe how your family arrived in the United States. Where does your family live? How did you come to live in the Houston area?
[…] When they set foot in Houston, my parents were barely fluent in the English language, much less Spanish! My father’s job project was based in Houston, so without further ado or traveling, my parents settled in Houston, convinced that they were in the heavenliest place compared to back home. Since my mother was the oldest of her siblings, the pattern followed that she and her husband arrived first, and then the rest of the family followed.
Who are your grandparents? What stands out about them?
My grandfather’s name is Mohammed Safouh Naeli, a noble, well-to- do General in the Syrian army, renowned for his honor and good repute. My grandfather is truly a role model for everyone in the family. Everything about my grandfather made him stand out from the crowd. My grandfather was a decisive, witty, bold, and masculine man in the letter and spirit of the word. He was fluent in seven languages and was truly a well-rounded Renaissance man.
Who are your parents? What stands out about each of your parents?
My father’s name is Fayez Mousilli and my mother’s name is Nada Mousilli. The meaning of my father’s name (“the Winner”) is an embodiment of his personality. My father has always been a hard-working man. Ever since his childhood, my father was always a serious person who never had a heart for games and entertainment. As a “workaholic”, my father found his destined match in my mother. My mother is a woman filled with infinite energy and dynamic ambition.
List your siblings. What stands out most about each, and what role does each play in the family?
[…] Feras is a very successful, ambitious, and intelligent person. Having scored a 1500 on his Scholastic Aptitude Test and having graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a degree in Biomedical Engineering, Feras is the spotlight of the family and local community. Feras has always played the role as my nurturer and life-long companion, sharing a parent-father relationship with me. As his role relates to the family scope, Feras is slowly becoming a “parent” figure in the family.
Give a favorite family story that illustrates the character of your family.
I would have to say that the time our house caught on fire in 1993 was the most magnificent display of our family character, as the dire situation brought out the true personality of every one in the household. Upon our family returning home late one night from a restaurant, tired and sleepy, our adrenaline was set ablaze when my father announced, “fire!” In an amazing display of courage, my father rushed to the source of the fire to extinguish the flames and mitigate the situation.
Mousilli
Fayez Mousilli, the winner
His memorial, his na'wa and the things you may not have known about him live on mousilli.com/fayez.
Open his memorialWhat did you think of this presentation?
My Family: Basim's Essay, February 13, 2001