1) Forged Syrian passports have been acknowledged since the invasion of Europe started late last summer
2) Carrying passports in Europe is much different than in the USA. Smaller countries equals more common to carry one’s passport with them as ID.
Traveling between states in the US you don't need a passport. In Europe those "states" are countries.
We recently had friends who invited their friend from Germany to visit. His biggest amazement was how vast America was and traveling around "freely".
Exactly. Overseas its normal to carry your docs with you all the time.
If his people knew what name he was traveling under, he may have wanted his family to know what happened to him.