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waving American and Palestinian flags. The Khdeirs had flown out of Israel earlier in the day.
• "I am only 15 but I will never think of freedom the same as I did two months ago," Tariq said upon arrival at Tampa International Airport. "No child, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli, deserves to die."
• The teenager said the thoughts and prayers of the supporters had helped him, adding "I got through these past two weeks because I knew you were all thinking of me."
• Now, he said, he just wanted some relaxation and time with friends. "It feels so good to be back in Tampa. Can I even put it in words? I can't wait to go back to play with my friends and go fishing," he added.
• ___
Families tell of struggles to get youths out of Mexican shelter where police rescued 607
• ZAMORA, Mexico (AP) -- Relatives of youths rescued by police from a refuse-strewn group home where employees allegedly beat and raped residents are telling of how they tried to remove their loved ones, only to be met with demands for thousands of dollars for their release.
• Mainly poor parents and other relatives thronged outside the home Wednesday as a garbage truck finished hauling away an estimated 20 tons of trash from what Mexican authorities said was an insect-infested shelter that had housed 607 adults and children, often against their will.
• Maria Valdivia Vasquez, 65, waited to be allowed in for a brief visit with her 17-year-old grandson, Jose Antonio Martinez. She said his mother sent him to The Great Family group home a decade ago because of behavioral problems. Relatives were allowed to visit him only twice a year, and shelter employees had recently been sitting in on the visits, apparently to monitor residents' comments, she said.
• Valdivia Vasquez said that when she decided to ask that the boy be released to her, shelter founder Rosa del Carmen Verduzco, known as "Mama Rosa," demanded 70,000 pesos ($5,400) for his release.
• She said Jose Antonio often barely spoke in front of the shelter employees, but said once that "he wanted his mother to suffer the same thing he was suffering there."
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