| Two weeks ago, these 11 foreign-born New Yorkers weren’t even citizens yet. Two weeks from now, they’ll be serving their adopted country on the front lines in Iraq - as full-fledged Americans. During a Feb. 7 ceremony, with hundreds of cheering friends and family looking on, these 11 soldiers of the 2nd Battalion 108th Infantry of the New York National Guard turned in their green cards and put the citizen into soldier... The oldest of the group is Sabri Trabelsi, 38, from Tunisia. His parents own a computer business in Tunis, the capital city. Trabelsi left his folks mystified when he cashed in that comfortable life in 2001 to go blue-collar in America. He was working at a Sbarro pizza in the World Trade Center when 9/11 changed his life. "Two of my friends died there," said Trabelsi, who was a member of Tunisia’s special forces 15 years ago and will serve as the battalion’s translator. "That hurt me so bad," Trabelsi added, toting his M-4 rifle in one hand and steadily taking drags on his smoke with the other. "I told myself, ’Get up and do something about this.’ I told myself, ’Let me come back and train again.’ This [training] is like dj vu for me." |