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ByKhetamMalkawi The Associated Press AMMAN, JORDAN The first Syrian family to be reset- tled in the U.S. under a speeded-up "surge opera- tion" for refugees left Jor- dan on Wednesday for Kan- sas City, Missouri, to start a new life. Ahmad al-Abboud, who is being resettled with his wife and five children, said he is thankful to Jordan, where he has lived for three years after fleeing Syria's civil war. But the 45-year- old from Homs, Syria, said he was ready to build a bet- ter life in the U.S. "I'm happy. America is the country of freedom and democracy, there are jobs opportunities, there is good education, and we are looking forward to having a good life over there," al-Ab- boud said. They have been living in Mafraq, north of Amman. Al-Abboud was unable to find work, and the family was surviving on food cou- pons. "I am ready to integrate in the U.S. and start a new life," he told The Associated Press in Amman's airport before the family boarded a flight to Kansas City. Al-Abboud said he wanted to learn English and find a job to support his family. Since October, 1,000 Syr- ian refugees have moved to the U.S. from Jordan. Pres- ident Barack Obama has set a target of resettling 10,000 Syrian refugees by Sept. 30. A resettlement center opened in Amman in Feb- ruary to help meet that goal, and about 600 people are interviewed every day at the center. The temporary process- ing center will run until April 28, said U.S. Ambas- sador Alice Wells, who was at the airport to see the al- Abboud family depart. Gina Kassem, the re- gional refugee coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in Am- man, said that while the tar- get of 10,000 applies to Syr- ian refugees living around the world, most will be re- settled from Jordan. "The 10,000 (figure) is a floor and not a ceiling, and it is possible to increase the number," Kassem told re- porters. While the resettlement process usually takes 18 to 24 months, the surge opera- tion will reduce the time to three months, Kassem said. The U.N. Refugee Agency prioritizes the most vulner- able cases for resettlement, and refers them to the U.S. to review, Kassem said. The priority is given to high-risk groups such as unaccompa- nied minors and victims of torture and gender-based violence, she said. "We do not have exclu- sions or look for families with certain education background, language skills or other socio-economic factors, and we do not cut family sizes," she said. Jor- dan hosts about 635,000 of the more than 4.7 mil- lion Syrians who have reg- istered with the U.N. refu- gee agency after fleeing the war. The total number of Syrians in Jordan is more than 1.2 million, including those who arrived before the conflict began in 2011. REFUGEES First Syrians leave for US under surge resettlement program RAADADAYLEH—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Syrian refugee Ahmad al-Abboud waits with his family at the International Airport of Amman, Jordan, on Wednesday. By Monika Scislowska The Associated Press GDANSK, POLAND Lech Walesa, Poland's former president and the founder of the Solidarity freedom movement,insistedWednes- day that he never collabo- rated with the communist secret police in the 1970s and voiced deep frustration at having to constantly re- spond to the allegations. In an interview with The Associated Press, Walesa, 72, said: "I never consented tocollaboration,Inevertook any money and I never re- ported on anybody. Clear? Enough! Next question please." Walesa said he has seen recently-surfaced docu- ments that some historians say prove he collaborated. He said that they are fakes and the signatures on them are fabricated. The 1983 Nobel Peace Prize winner also expressed concern about a tumultuous situation and "crisis of de- mocracy" in Europe and in the wider world. "I look with surprise at the United States where some populist may become the president, I look with surprise at France where (Marine) Le Pen supporters almost won and may win the next time," Walesa said, referring to recent regional elections in which Le Pen's far-right National Front polled strongly. "Because there are no good solutions, no good pro- posals, demons are born on the left and on the right," Walesa said. "Today the world is ask- ing for a form of democracy that would fit the times," he said. He argued that there should be new forms of po- litical representation for various social groups that would encourage them to become more active in pol- itics. Referring to suggestions by Roman Catholic bishops and anti-abortion groups that abortion should be fully banned in Poland, Walesa — a Catholic and father of eight — said he is too old to comment but lamented that the debate on the is- sue is "shallow," failing to take account of various rea- sons why women might de- cide whether or not to have a baby. Still, he suggested that Poland's current law, which wasadoptedduringhispres- idency, should be preserved. It bans abortion except for cases when the woman's life or health is threatened, the pregnancy results from crime like rape or incest or the fetus is irreparably dam- aged or sick. Walesa spoke at his new office overlooking the Gdansk shipyard where Solidarity was born out of worker protests in 1980. In 1989, the movement peace- fully toppled Poland's com- munist rulers, paving the way for similar change in other Soviet bloc nations. The modern building where Walesa's office is based houses the European Solidarity Center, which charts the movement's his- tory. INTERVIEW Ex -P ol an d le ad er i s ti re d of c ol la bo ra ti on q ue st io ns CZAREK SOKOLOWSKI — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Lech Walesa talks about the "crisis of democracy" during an interview at his new office at the European Solidarity Center in Gdansk, Poland, on Wednesday. 5,158fans+20 this week Select"Subscribe"tabin lower right corner Complete information for automatic weekly delivery to your email inbox That's it! FREE online subscription to TV Select Magazine Digital edition emailed to you, every Saturday! Just go online to www.ifoldsflip.com/t/5281 (You'll only need to go there one time) • Fully searchable online, zoom in, print out pages and more! • No newspaper online subscription or website access required. • Best of all ... it's ABSOLUTELY FREE! 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