Dean Parker ditches his surfboard for a rifle. Photo: Facebook
An American expatriate living in Costa Rica has decided to leave the “pura vida” of Central America to join forces with the Kurds in Syria in their fight against ISIS. The Florida native and surf instructor in Costa Rica, Dean Parker, told Mail Online that he “heard God’s call” to join forces with the Lions of Rojava, which is a faction of the Kurdish People’s Protection Unit that vows to destroy Islamic State militants.
Dean Parker, overwhelmed with the plight of ISIS victims, left paradise to fight Islamic State militants. Photo: Facebook
In the same interview, Parker explained to Mail Online that while watching a TV report, he became so overwhelmed with the plight of the Yazidi people that he actually became physically ill and cried uncontrollably. “ISIS was attacking the Yazidis and they had fled to the mountain,” Parker said. “A cameraman filmed this one mother holding her 10 to 11-year-old son. She was crying, holding him. He was looking at the camera and that look of sheer terror in his eyes overwhelmed me with emotions I have never felt before. This has never happened to me before, and that was it.”
Parker, pictured left, poses with the Kurdish forces. Photo: Facebook
