SU_A_02

[i] Hello.
[r] Welcome.
[i] Tell us about yourself and your life in your country.
[r] Yes. I am [name], from Syria. I was born in 1965. I have a family of four sons and a daughter. I was born in an area called Qalamoun in Syria. My father, because of his job in Damascus, moved to an area called Harasta, which is the Ghouta, the eastern Ghouta. We moved to the Ghouta from 1970 until 2018, until now. Anyway, we used to work in the eastern Ghouta. I used to work in the building. I grew up and lived in the Ghouta. I got married in the Ghouta. I had children and worked in the building. We lived a noble life. My sister and I lived in one house, a family of five with seven children. We lived like one family. My father and his mother lived in a social life that was connected. This was the most beautiful thing for me. In the year 2000, I moved to Damascus to work. I opened a supermarket and started working in Damascus. My life was different between the countryside and the heart of the city. People differ from the countryside to the city. I worked from the year 2000 to 2017. I owned a supermarket. Thank God, I was settled in my life. I lived a beautiful life. A very beautiful material life. My family and I each owned a house. Our circumstances were very good. We owned a apartment. We owned shops and agricultural lands. Life was endless. From 1975 to 2011. In 2011, I was crisis history.
[i] Before the Syrian crisis, what did you study at school?
[r] I studied for the preparatory stage. I finished the elementary stage only. Then I left elementary school. I had a strong physical health and I worked. I worked for about 25 years. I didn’t finish my studies.
[i] How was your father and your mother? What did they want to do?
[r] My father was an employee. He didn’t study. He used to read and write about the Quran. My mother didn’t go to school at all. We were just … Our children mostly studied the preparatory and secondary stages. I studied the elementary stages. My siblings studied the preparatory and secondary stages. We all married.
[i] What is your children age?
[r] I have four children. One of them is 28. 26 years old, 21 years old, 22 years old, and I have a 10-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter.
[i] Are you originally Syrian?
[r] I am originally Syrian.
[i] Well, life was beautiful and the situation was stable. After that, what made you decide to emigrate?
[r] What made me make the decision to emigrate is that the crisis began in 2011. There was chaos, demonstrations, and protests. There were people protesting against us and the others. There was a killing in Syria. You were killed.
[i] Were you in Damascus?
[r] I was in Damascus.
[i] Were there still problems in Damascus or were you out of Damascus?
[r] The hot area was in the countryside. I was transferred during the crisis from the countryside to the city. In the first year. In the second year, at the beginning of the second year, I had a problem. I had to move from my home in the countryside to the city. I had problems returning home at night. The country I was living in became oppressive. There were barriers.
[i] What happened when you returned home? For example?
[r] For example, the city I was living in was full of fire. It became oppressive. Electricity was turned off. Electricity was completely turned off. I would go home at midnight. I would return home at midnight. I became afraid. The streets were empty. Then the government began to arrest me. Then the authorities began to arrest me. Sometimes there are random arrests. Sometimes the government has arrested me. Then they arrested me and I was released. Then I faced problems in the village. In the beginning of the second year, I took a decision. I wanted him to leave the countryside and go to the city. I was afraid of my children. My children were young. They were the first ones to come out. A child can be influenced by ideas. For example, he can be influenced by protestors. I wanted to leave the countryside. I wanted to be neutral, impartial.
[i] Was the village against the government?
[r] It was against the government. Victim of demonstrations and protests. He was a murderer. He was a murderer.
[i] Was there a time when you felt a sense of danger in your life?
[r] Of course. What made me move from the countryside to the city is that we now have a very busy area in the region, especially in the region of Behrouzistan. My children and I are no longer safe at home in Damascus. I was back at 12 o’clock in the night and I saw the first incident that happened to me. I was walking home at night, and I heard gunfire at night. How did the gunfire come from? I don’t know. How did the fire come from? I don’t know. Where did the bullets come from? I hid behind a wall, and the world was dark, I couldn’t see anything in front of me. There were bullets fired. I mean, this is the problem we have. We don’t know what we’re going to do. Out of fear. Anyway, I was living in the urn that I was hiding in for about an hour. After that, I entered my house at night. My children were scared. They were scared. They heard the sound of the gunfire outside. And we passed it. That morning, we were scared. We carried ourselves. We went to work. The next day, I came home. The house was covered with dust and dirt. The house was covered with dirt. I ran around with my children. Someone was here, someone was there, someone was there. Thank God, nothing happened. What? What happened? He said, the house was covered with dust and dirt. It’s okay, God willing. So far, we don’t think we’ll get out of the house. We’re sitting. We said, it’s a problem, God willing. It’s been a year of problems. We said, God willing. I mean, it’s about to be solved, God willing. We stayed for a week or two. I came home one day. What you know, we got out of the house. We had to pay money. He said, the house I was talking about didn’t repair. Now, he wants to say something about the house, just so you know. They had the house, the house. To be honest, I don’t know anything about that house anymore. No. When we came home, it was nothing like the last time here. It was when I left school a long time ago. We came home, we took a few gar April buildings. Children are being killed in front of you.
[i] Have you seen people die in front of you?
[r] Yes, of course. Everyone in the countryside has seen people die in front of them. We have no strength or power to do anything. We see people being killed in the streets. What is this? They say, for example, this is a newspaper. This is a newspaper that works for the system. The other party comes and tells them about it. They kill people. I’ve seen a lot of these things. They kill people randomly.
[i] What is the reason? Do you think that people were shocked when there was stability and the financial situation was good?
[r] The financial situation was very good. They were living in Syria, the most beautiful place in the world. Maybe in the Arab world. It was cheap. Food and drink. One can get a house in Jeddah. In Jeddah, you get married and have a family. There is work in the country. They do not say anything about it. versus all people in the Arab world. So what is the reason? If a Syrian hoorah came around, people would talk about it. There is so much money in the world. They would say, They would say a king came to Syria. But it was not Ever. from the countryside to the city, and I’m one of them. I didn’t like to go. Because if I stopped at the countryside, I’d have to respect my job at the city. I mean, I’ve been through a lot. And I’ve been here, at the city. They also think of me and judge me for that. I said, there’s only one solution. I’ll take my wife and children and go to Damascus.
[i] Did you find a house in Damascus easily or was it difficult?
[r] It was easy to find a house. But the rents changed a lot. And the income. My income allowed me to rent a house. But there are people… They don’t allow us to rent a house. God Almighty sent me a nice man from Damascus. He’s a very generous man. He’s called [name]. He told me… He told me, the situation in the countryside isn’t safe. I have an empty house in Damascus. Bring your wife and children. And come to me. Live in the house. The man settled me in the house. From the beginning of 2012 until the end of 2017. In that period, you paid at least 200,000 Syrian Lira. He gave me the house for five years. A big and spacious house.
[i] How much did it cost you?
[r] About 500 Euro. That was the rent. 250,000 Syrian Lira. 500 Euro rent for the house. It’s a big house. And he told me… Look at your brothers. If it’s dangerous for them, bring them too. After I settled in Damascus for a month, I was forced to fight in the area. I fought a lot. There were attacks by planes and planes. My brothers called me. They told me, we can’t live here. Come to me. They came to Damascus.
[i] How many brothers and sisters did you have?
[r] I had seven brothers. Five brothers. Seven sisters. And seven people. We were scattered. One in the area. One in the city of Tel. One in Sahnaia. One in Hafir. And I was in Damascus. I brought my brothers. I put them in my house. They worked in the field of car repair. They worked in Damascus. They worked for us for seven days. It was a safe area. There was nothing. During this period, there was a higher demand for the army than these. There was a demand for the army. We heard it. They took him to the volunteers. An month later, he was martyred, dead. He was raped. They killed him. He was sentenced for the murder. Two of my brothers were very afraid of us, so they decided to leave Syria. To this day, I don’t think about emigrating at all. I stay at home and work. I don’t rent a house. My brothers emigrated. At that time, emigration was the most common thing. Most people emigrated to Turkey. And from Turkey, if we want to go to Europe, there were refugees in Turkey.
[i] Now, in Damascus, is it a serious matter? Did you hear any explosions in Damascus?
[r] Of course. It was… There were explosions from the countryside to the city. There were explosions and missiles. Even the residents of Damascus were amazing. Not once or twice did they go to Damascus with explosions or missiles. Not once or twice. Maybe hundreds of times.
[i] What was the reason for the explosions in the peaceful revolution?
[r] There were explosions. There were explosions. I didn’t live in the countryside. I didn’t see them. But I heard that the government was attacking the armed people in the countryside. The armed people were attacking. They were attacking in military and governmental areas. Sometimes they were attacking civilians and markets. This happened a lot.
[i] When you were living in Damascus, were you afraid of the regime or any specific side? Or were you…
[r] No, I didn’t have a problem. I wasn’t afraid of the regime or the opposition. I wasn’t afraid of any of these. Because I was peaceful. I wasn’t afraid to fight these forces. I did what the regime asked me to do. I live with them in their region and worked in my shop. The regime had already investigated me. They knew where I lived and they did not allow anyone to stay if they didn’t know him. They did a lot of research on me and they knew my background. My background is clean, no crimes or problems. The regime… did not harm us or harass us. The only thing that annoyed us were the grenades falling on the city. It caused a lot of fear. Not just for me, but for all the people who lived in the city. The whole city is not my problem, the problem of anyone living in the city is my problem.
[i] Did this revolution affect the Syrian economy and your income?
[r] Of course, it affected my income more than 50%. Many people from the city emigrated. Many buildings, houses, this is a migrant from Egypt, this is from Sudan, this is from America, this is from France. They left the whole world. Almost all the emigrants from the countryside to the city became more than the people of the city. All of them emigrated. They had money. I mean, where? They had money in their hands. They said to you, I’m going out. I’m not going out with my wife and children. I’m not going out here. We saw a lot of people, for example, a taxi driver. A taxi driver got hit by a car. He was killed. The driver was killed. The situation was not safe. Meanwhile, those who had no money fled. And those who had no money, there was no power around him. He was sitting in his place. He didn’t have money. I still don’t think about emigrating at all. I’m sitting. I’m working. My children are going to school. One day, my son came from school. He looked normal at the time.
[i] This is the moment when you decided to emigrate?
[r] Yes. when a projectile fell in Damascus, our Syrian friends from Saudi Arabia or Germany called us. Hello! Syrian friends. They asked, ‘Is everything okay?’ There had been an accident in our region. I asked them what had happened. They knew that a projectile had fallen in our neighbourhood, even though they were in another country. Then I kept going for had just gone home, and after he came back after I arrived, next to a school in Damascus, and my son was in that school. He said, okay. I said, yes, I swear. I took off my clothes and went to the road. The boy was scared, yellow, terrified. At that time, I made a decision that I wanted to survive. I wanted to escape from Damascus. But I wanted to escape my regime. I wanted to escape my country and my regime. My first fear was my children. I didn’t have a problem. I was fine. On the contrary, I was in greater danger than my children. Tens of times. I was from Damascus. I had a grocery store and a vegetable and fruit store. I wanted to bring the goods to the store. I was in a very scary area. We were in the market. For example, the market was crowded. Look at the people on the ground. The hungry, the hungry. I was in danger. I said, I’m the one who comes from God, my dear. But I was afraid of my children. My children. I swear, I was afraid of my children. If they die, it doesn’t matter. But God forbid. God forbid. I don’t want to cut his hand. I don’t want to cut his neck. He will be helpless. All his life he remained helpless in front of him. That’s what I was afraid of. I decided to escape. Escape. Escape to Turkey. Or want to escape from Turkey to Europe. I need money. I need a lot of money.
[i] Why did you choose Europe, for example?
[r] I didn’t choose Europe. I didn’t think about Europe. I didn’t think about Europe. I have two friends. My father said, let’s go to Turkey. We go there to Turkey to work. And see how it goes. That’s better than staying here. Let’s go to Turkey. The youth. The youth. The youth can work. They said, ‘We can check how things are there and prepare everything for you. If we can, we rent a house. We find work for you. We study the region for you. We give you education. If we find the situation safe. Travel with us. You come to us. We give you a place here. You come to us. We give you peace. You give us peace. I feel comfortable. Psychally we can relax. Collecting and killing oppressors. I have got no idea. I have got two sons. Almost everyone wants money. Money that can cost up to $2,000 per person. While he goes to Turkey to work, he doesn’t have money. We said to him, our children, but dad, we don’t have money. He paid $4,000. The danger increased. Anyway, I have a car, a private touristic car that lives with me. We said to them, no problem, father. We sell the car, give you my money, and we travel to Turkey. The children went straight away and got married and traveled. My children are under the age of the army. They got married and traveled. They said, we are ready to travel. At that time, we heard that there was a migration from Turkey to Europe. He said, honestly, we had a dream to see Europe. We saw Europe, but we didn’t immigrate to Europe. We hear about Europe, about the civilization of Europe, and the science in Europe. We had a dream about it. But we didn’t think about it. We said, we immigrated to Europe. We are happy in our country. My children said, father, if we went to Turkey and wanted to travel to Europe, what do you think? I told them, you will see Turkey before me. If you don’t like the situation, run to Turkey. To Europe. Europe was welcoming refugees. We were happy. At that time, we heard in the camp how the refugees came to the camp. How the trip from Turkey in the sea. How their world was flooded. Children went. Without walking, they were all flooded. It was dangerous. The journey was very dangerous. Very dangerous.
[i] How old were your children and how many migrated?
[r] My son was 22 years old. He was studying. They were late for the army. One was studying law. The other was studying. He was 22 years old. They postponed military service because they wanted to continue their studies. However, the region where they were studying became a conflict zone and so they had been unable to study for years. They delayed. The important thing is that my father left and we didn’t go. My son came and said, father, what do you think we should do? We took with us the youngest son, who was 9 years old at the time. How did we take him with us? The father said, if we take him with us to Turkey, we will take care of him. We keep him here, in the cellar. But the goal we took with them to Turkey is that if they want to migrate to Europe, the child better bring me. He better invite me, his mother, his younger sister, he better invite me to Europe, he will make me a good man. We said, no problem. They went to Turkey for about 10 or 15 days. In Turkey, I heard their news at first. I was busy with my mind.
[i] You were busy with your mind. Did you have any experience?
[r] No, no, no. I didn’t have any experience at all.
[i] Were you afraid for them?
[r] Of course, I was afraid. I was very afraid of them. When my children traveled to Turkey, I felt that it was the longest day of my life.
[i] How did it happen?
[r] They took a plane and went to Turkey. In Turkey, they went to the cellar and sat there. They got to know there. They got to know that there is a man who will take 1000 euros for one person, 1000 dollars or 1000 euros for one person. They put them in a boot and cut them off on the sea. The journey from Turkey to Greece is the dream area. You go out in a boot and in a big car. You got on the boot. This is the area of fear. After this trip, the trip takes about an hour. After the hour here, if you reach the area on the other side of the beach, it means that almost 90% of the danger is gone. The danger is gone. Anyway, my children said, Dad, we can’t stay here in Turkey and travel. How do you want us to travel with you, my little brother? He said, we in Turkey are waiting for the time of the rebels. They will see the appropriate weather, the weather, the wind, the wind, and so on. We will be at ease.
[i] How many days or how many months did you spend in Turkey?
[r] They spent almost 20 days. 20 days. They took a loan from me. They want to emigrate. One day they called me and said, God willing, at 4 a.m. We want to travel. We will ride the plane. We agreed with the rebels. How will the rebels escape? He said, they will take the person for 1,000 euros, 1,000 dollars. They put them as a person in Turkey, the amount agreed to him. Of course, they have phones with them. As soon as he passes the sea area, he calls my son to the second apartment of the rebels. He said, we arrived. He will take the money. There are people who pay the rebels and do not escape. They take the money. There are people who are robbers. There are people who take the rebels to the forests and leave them in the sky, in the cold, in the rain. They laugh at them. They play with them. They are transported from Turkey to the coast of the sea. They also escape from the Turkish gendarme. They take them in small cars. They ride in small cars. Every 20-30 people in a small truck. In the summer, in the winter, they take them. The road is very difficult. The day they began to escape, my son said, at 4 a.m. They will take them. They started to cross the other side of the road. They called me at 4 a.m. We are not in touch today. Good, God willing. After that, communication between us stopped. I couldn’t reach them at all anymore. I was not in touch with him. This was the longest day in my life. The longest day in my life, I see this day. He gave me a phone call and told me that he was afraid of the child. I am not afraid of a grown man. He knows how to wake up. But I don’t know about this child. The next day …
[i] When was this?
[r] This was in 2012. In 2012, Almost The second year of the pandemic. At the end of 2012. The battles were very intense. In the beginning. Anyway, the next day, He called me and my children. From Greece. He said, Dad, we arrived in Greece. I said, praise be to God. Now, If you arrive here, there is no danger for them.
[i] What happened to them during the flight?
[r] The day he came to the sea, he had no problem at all. I mean, The trip took two and a half hours. 40 minutes. Nothing happened. Praise be to God. They boarded the plane. Before they reached the beach, About 300 meters, 400 meters. They went down and swam. They went to the beach. They came to Greece and swam. They filled the world. A lot of people. The next day, they were taken from Greece to Cyprus. Cyprus, there, there will be Recording and not recording. The Soviets. Especially the Syrians. They will welcome the Syrians and record them. I don’t know the details of their flight. I don’t know exactly. But I know here correctly. Yes, and then from here. Our father said, let’s go to another country. To Macedonia and I don’t know what. Then to Germany and I don’t know where. I mean, from this thing. Their journey began. Until they arrived at the Belgian state. Here. They sat for about 20 days. He traveled. From Greece. They arrived at the Belgian state. They sat for 20 days. You know, 20 days. They slept and ate with many people Land. Airport. And I suffered a lot. Even my son. Even my little son. They once sent my children. A picture of him. In a forest. Sleeping in a bag. The bag was closed. We were afraid of him. In a bag. Sleeping in a bag. They put the clothes on him. They closed the bag. He looked like a dead person. They took away their eyes. And they gave the child. And they were lying around. They were burning. A very beautiful flight. To this day, I still remember them. They have been on a trip. All their lives. The last important thing. They went to Macedonia. I don’t know where. They flew trains. They flew buses. And they walked. The foreigners here. Their treatment was very. Very good. With the refugees. They fed them. They fed them. Many people. We provided them with services. Especially the Syrian refugees. They told my son. My father. My little son. My father. They came to us. They brought us food. Chocolates. Fruits. They were upset with us. They told us. The days of our fate. They cried. How they abandoned us. How they came. How we came here with a child. Until they arrived here. In Belgium. In Belgium. They drew here. They put them in a camp. This camp. A building. Close. Of course. There were. 250, 300 people. A group kitchen. A group food. Each one. Each family. Or each person. Three. They sleep. In a room.
[i] Which city was it? The first one. In Belgium.
[r] I don’t know exactly. My children know which city. Anyway. In a city. I don’t know. What is its name. They sat approximately in the refugee camp about a year. After a year it ended. The camp time. We don’t know. Here. At that time. It was happening. We were in Damascus. In the Takba for work. We were in the crisis. We were about four years in Damascus. From 2012. Approximately. To the beginning of 2016. We all were there. Approximately. It was in 2016. They entered the camp a year later. The children were there. I called them and made sure they were safe. They were mentally safe. The children were safe. A year later, their time in the camp was over. They saw that the regime had come. They gave them money. They said they were going to build a house. They went up there and sat there. They were studying to learn the language. The government gave them money. They didn’t have much money. The house was full of stones, electricity, water and electricity, and the Internet. They managed to get some help from people on the street When my children called me, I asked them, ‘How is your youngest brother doing?’ They said, ‘Very well, he is happy and going to school’. When I spoke to him, I heard the sadness in his voice. My children could not see that. My son did not see the sadness in him. I am his father, I know what is in his heart. The child now has turned ten years old. He wants his father now, he wants his mother to stay by his father’s side, to sleep with his father. He wants us to give him something, but the brother does not give him anything. The son feels very sad. He says to the children, father, there is a way for me to go out. Even my situation in the Levant was very worried. Work and security were not like before. The father says, we will give you a blanket, because this child with us will make you a blanket. He is young, and the child is here asking for his father and mother. They asked and came and put their names on the blanket. They said, we will give you a blanket. We sent him, and he asked for his father and mother. If he had a father and mother and small children, it would be good to bring them with him. Children above twenty years old, it would not be good to bring them. I had a child at the time, he was twenty years old. The fourth son.
[i] Why did he not go out with them?
[r] He did not migrate with them. He accepted the situation, and he was studying nursing. The first year. He chose to continue his medical studies in the country. He says to the children, if I want to emigrate, my brothers, first I will spend a year studying. Second, until I enter private school, I will need years to learn the language. I will study the language and even submit my certificates in Europe. He says, I graduated here. He says, we hope the visa expires here. This young man did not choose to travel. He wants to stay. Anyway, they made us to go to Mshamel, we came to Mwafa. After we came to Mwafa, they called us to the embassy in Lebanon. To get our papers. We went from Lebanon to Syria, and from Syria to Lebanon, and from Lebanon, and this and that, and this and that.
[i] Was the embassy in Belgium in Syria?
[r] No, the embassy was in Lebanon. We stayed for more than three months. We went up and down to Lebanon. The trip to Lebanon was very difficult. We had a lot of money. We had to pay a lot of money. We had to rent a car, rent a house, and stay in a hotel. I told him that we had a lot of things to do. After that, we did almost nothing. We left. We left. I said, it’s not a problem now, if we don’t get rid of them, we’ll leave. We just need to rest. We need to rest from the wars, the death of my wife, the arms protests in the country. We just need to rest, that’s it. I had a dream that one day I would sleep and not hear the sound of planes and missiles above my head. It became a dream. We came to Muafaa and we said, God willing, we will come to Al-Faraj. We said we would go out and meet the children. My life became unbelievable in Damascus. I had three children who were away from me and two children with me. I chose a way. Either I want to sit with them in Damascus or I want to sit with them in Damascus. I chose a way. I mean, the whole family became one. God has no one person. This person chose to complete his education. He became the one. We got on a plane. I got a visa. I took the plane from Syria to Turkey and from Turkey to Belgium. Me and my wife and daughter were sitting with the children there. Where are you flying? From Lebanon or from Turkey? I was in Turkey and from Turkey. I called Aba Jika and he helped me. We don’t know any language, we don’t know anything, we don’t know any airports. They said, we are waiting for you at the airport. Aba Jika. Shari’a airport. We arrived at the airport and we didn’t have any bags. We found the children. I was…
[i] What was your first feeling when you saw the children?
[r] I mean… I’ve done two things that I will never forget in my life. I’ve done two things in my life that I will never forget. I will remember them till I die. The day I went to Hajj, I saw the Ka’bah. My first sight when I look at the Ka’bah I will never forget my life. This is the situation. And the second sight when I reached the airport and I was searching for my children Where are my children? Where are my children? My children saw me before I saw them. They saw me. At the airport, there are people. At the airport, there are voices. Dojers. Between all these voices, I heard the words of my little son “daddy”, My little son. He was calling ‘daddy’. I knew his voice. I looked at him and said This is the second sight that I will never forget in my life. This is the second sight that I will never forget in my life. He ran to my children. I came to him. I didn’t stop. Thank God. I reached my goal. My goal is to have a child. We left the airport. We got in the car. We reached home. When I reached home, the door was closed. I felt that I was trapped. I came with my knowledge. I came to relax. I was trapped. That’s it. I moved from home to home. There is a big difference. There is a big difference in the home I came to. On the first Friday, you can imagine that I made a big mistake. I don’t know how to fix my life. In Syria, I had a supermarket and many social contacts with people. Every day I go to my family, and I take and give to the people. When I go home, I close the door. I go to my friend’s office. My other friend has a restaurant. I go home, and I find my sisters. I see my wife’s sisters. There are a lot of social relations. I love social relations. When I came here, everything changed. I lost all my loved ones.
[i] How did you communicate with your neighbors? Did they talk to you? Or did they talk to you later?
[r] Where are my neighbors? There is no one here. No one talks to anyone. No one knows anything. No one knocks on the door. No one visits anyone. I can imagine that for 20 days, it was the Eid al-Fitr. The Eid al-Ramadan in 2018. It was the first time in my life that no one told me, Every year you are doing well. Every year you are doing well. No one told me. No one was by my side. We were not like this.
[i] How did you feel when you arrived at the airport and saw the city?
[r] The first feeling I felt was happiness. I felt that the sound was gone from my head. It didn’t go away, but I came to a place where the sound would go away. I no longer hear the missile or the missile or the plane. The first time I entered, I felt safe and at ease. I feel at ease here. I no longer have any problems. War problems.
[i] What other cultural aspects do you notice differ from the life of your culture in your country?
[r] The society here is 180 degrees different from our culture and our country. We have social people who come in and out of the country. Here, there is no such thing. The people come out at the morning, and at the evening they come at night. In the evening, people will say that they will sleep early. We don’t have that. People come in, do their work and spend the evening together. They visit the world together. Here, there is no such thing.
[i] What about food?
[r] As Muslims, we avoid food. There is food that we do not eat here, for example, we do not eat pork, our Lord has forbidden it. If we look for food that suits us, there are our Turkish brothers here, they slaughter. They slaughter chickens, they slaughter sheep, they slaughter sheep. We prefer to bring sweet food. The problem of food is very easy. It is very easy. They love to eat food, we love to eat food. We came here, we are used to Zohra. In Ramadan or other Ramadan, if someone around us loves food, if he cooks, he gives it to his neighbor. They do not know our cuisine at all. They do not know our cuisine at all. We are used to cooking here. We taste the neighbors. We give them. They taste our food, they enjoy it. We serve them. It is a new food, but it is delicious. The strange thing is that someone tastes the neighbor and gives him food. Here, there is no such thing. Here, for us, it is a good thing. They saw us, we are a people. Then they came to us, we are peaceful people. This is what they want. This is what they want. This is a peaceful people. They do not fear such things. They are a kind people. They live together. They love their neighbors. In Lebanon, I have a relationship with my neighbors. If I do not know, I will tell them. If I go down, they will respect me. I see someone who wants my help, I help him. I love their neighbors a lot. Do not do any religiosity, I just leave the neighbor in peace. He should leave them alone for a good reason. It is all because a friend assigned by him sees his neighbor and says a missversion of hiserve. He doesn’t know their way. He will give him a piece of his life. He orders his neighbor and give him back a piece of his life. I think that this is where there is typical behavior. I know what use whatever kind of children they have. I love my sister. I love my neighbors. If the Belgian people say to you, bonjour, the word bonjour will be in your throat. You will say, bonjour. With peace, there is a commitment from the people. The people who came out to live with him, the Iraqi people. In fact, we have seen here in Raqi, we have not seen it in our Arab countries.
[i] Do you mean when you arrived in Belgium?
[r] What?
[i] When did you arrive in Belgium?
[r] In May 2017. We are now in June 2018. I mean, I have been here for 8 months.
[i] When you arrived in Belgium, was the first city you lived in the city of Liege?
[r] Liege and the second one. I stayed in Liege because my children live here. I chose to live with my children.
[i] And how was your situation with the French language?
[r] So far, I have had a language problem for 8 months. First of all, I enrolled in a school. I enrolled in two schools, and I have not finished my course yet. I mean, if I go to work, they said 1-9-2018. Until I finish my first course. It is not good to take the language from the street or from my son. It is very difficult for me.
[i] Why did you not finish your course? Is there any place for you?
[r] No, they opened a course for 1-9-2018. 1-9-2018, so that they can open their courses. So that they can work. The children are in schools. My youngest daughter, who I brought with me from Syria, immediately. I enrolled her in school. She was in the third grade. She went to school for about 4 months. The girl answered in school. She accepted. She came home and spoke with her brother in the language. She accepted. I am 55 years old. I am not studying. Sometimes I memorize two words in the evening. In the morning, I forget them. I completely forget.
[i] Didn’t you try to speak French with people?
[r] Of course, I tried. But I don’t know. I start speaking outside. On the street. My youngest son comes. Father, what does this mean? He tells me. Put it in your memory. Now, I have the biggest problem that I don’t speak the language. This is my first problem. Now, it is very difficult for me to go to school. Me and my wife. We want to speak the language. Imagine that we are going to buy malls or supermarkets. We enter and buy. We buy on the signal. We calculate on the signal. We don’t know. I have to learn from them. So that I can enter society. So that if someone tells me something, I know what he wants. I know what he wants. I want to know what I want to convey to him. I don’t know what to say to him. A lot of people here like to talk to us. They talk to us to understand the story.
[i] Do you have any work experience in your country? And do you want to work here in this country?
[r] Yes, of course. They give us a salary. The rent of the house. And monthly expenses. And we are sitting. We don’t want that. We want to work. The Syrian people love work. They don’t want to be dependent on others. Eat and drink and sleep. Eat and drink and sleep. I don’t want that. I want to enter society. Sometimes I have a feeling that the Belgian state has captured me. It has captured me. And honored me. And settled me in a house. I want to give it to the country that brought it to me. Give it my rights. My experience. I have experience in building. I have experience in building plots. I have experience in ceramics. I have a grocery store. I know how to buy and sell. And take and give. I know the rank. I know the standard. I wanted to do this job, but I didn’t feel like working because I didn’t have a language. I went to a library, and they told me to register there. I was in a big, heavy car. I went to London, and my son translated for me. They told me that I could work there, but first I had to learn a language. After you learn a language, look at the field you want to work in and work on it. I am now suffering from a problem here. The biggest problem I have now is the vacancy. The vacancy killed me. Vacancy, vacancy, vacancy, vacancy. The house is always empty. I can’t go out on the street. I can’t communicate with the people. I don’t know what I should tell the people. How I can talk to them. I have an empty house. The vacancy killed me. The vacancy let me fall down. I want to work. This is the vacancy we are suffering from. Life has no meaning. Life has no meaning at all in the vacancy I have. Life means it. You wake up in the morning, you come back in the afternoon, you’re tired, you want to rest, you want to sleep. I’m relaxed now. I’m relaxed. I can’t sleep well. What do I mean by relaxed? I’m not tired even when I need to sleep. Every day at 3 a.m., 4 a.m., 5 a.m., 6 a.m. I can’t sleep. I can’t sleep because I’m tired. We have a problem here. We have a huge gap.
[i] Are there any social activities organized here in the city to help refugees?
[r] Educational courses. This one is called Ndimash. They invited us.
[i] Is there any other program other than language education?
[r] We are beginners. Since we are beginners, we don’t know the language. The first step is to learn. To learn the language. Of course, they are facing us. They told us, now you have a integration course. This is called Ndimash. They sent you to a school to learn the language so you can integrate with them.
[i] Why did it take such a long time to open the language course? What is the reason?
[r] The first reason is that the day we arrived, we had already learned the language. We didn’t want to go straight to school. But when we went to school and registered, they classified us. We are beginners from scratch. For example, they asked us, what do you know about letters? What do you know about numbers? What do you know about this and that? We don’t know anything at all. They put us as beginners. They want to wait. They want to gather the beginners from scratch. They put us in the course and we go. There are people who are classified. For example, they know 2%, 5%, 10% and so on. They know how to speak a little. They know numbers. They know how to write. They know how to solve numbers. They know how to connect numbers. This is their right in schools. Open schools. My children come here. They speak good English. They study in Damascus. They don’t know French. But this is a young man who studied in Baccarolia. He went straight here. He accepted integration courses. He is good. He is good at memorizing. He learns. He speaks well. I didn’t do well.
[i] What are some of the situations you have experienced, for example, when you pass by a place and you don’t know if you have a bad feeling or something similar? For example, one day I went to a place and I want to buy a dress. I wear a special dress. I am a sugar patient. If I want to buy a dress and my skin doesn’t suit me, because I am a sugar patient, I want a soft dress. This is a difficult place for me. So, I ask the person to explain. I tell him I don’t know how to say it. I didn’t tell him, I never had the right to do so. I don’t know what his problem is. After I told him He just didn’t hear what I was saying. He just wanted to be able to explain. Then he came along with the interpreter to translate it for you and let you know what he wants. I felt I was missing something here. This is language. This is necessary. They don’t have the right to teach me language. so that I can integrate into the society.
[i] What is your vision for the future? What is the future that you wish for?
[i] My future is to live a noble life. Because I am confined. My wife and two children, their children left me. They are studying. They took their own homes and are working. My plan for the future is to live a noble life. Better than now. I will work hard. I will take my salary from my hard work. I will work hard. I will come to my home. I will spend money on my home. Here I feel happy. There is nothing.
[i] After you arrived in Belgium, and the situation is weak, do you want to return to Syria or do you want to live here?
[r] I wish to return to Syria. But I have two problems. The first problem is that the youth here do not accept the idea of returning to Syria. There is something that pulls me towards Syria. More than building. There is something that pulls me. I am tired. I am tired for 55 years. And I am building in my country. This is what pulls me to it. To return to it. What keeps me away from Syria is my children. These two children, if I send them back, they will be deprived of their studies in Syria. So this is another field, the French field. Here, the French did not complete their studies if I returned. And there, the Arabs did not complete their studies. These five years of studying, I threw them on the ground. This is the reason that is preventing me from returning to Syria. This is the first reason. The second reason is that if I want to return to Syria, where can I go? Where can I go? If I want to go back to my home, to my home in Rukam, my home in Rukam, my place in Rukam, my farm was destroyed by the Lebanese. I have a farm that I built with my own hands. I work in the construction of the farm. I built it myself. Everything is done by my hands. Everything was done by my hands. What connects me to my country more than here, is the memories.
[i] What do you want to achieve in the future in your country?
[r] My dream in my country is for my country to settle down. To return. To return to security. This is impossible. How can people live and settle down in Rukam? People want a home. A home. After that, there is fatigue. I want to go and pray. No one can pray for me. I am afraid to go back to my country. I am afraid of seeing destruction. I enter my home, I see all my memories destroyed. Burned. The roof is broken. This moment, this moment, I am running away from it a lot. I don’t want to see it. I see my dreams there. Every street, every street, every situation. Every corner of the house. Every room. Every tree has a memory. Because I made these with my own hands. The memories and the good dreams are all dead. Zero. If I want to go back to my country now, there is nothing. I chose to stay here. At least, at least, I am relieved psychologically. But I am staying here, physically, but I am still in the city.
[i] What do you think about the government’s interest in refugees?
[r] In the state here?
[i] Yes.
[r] In which way?
[i] Health, education, all of them.
[r] In fact, the Belgian state that sent them, I’m talking about ourselves, the Syrian refugees. I’m Iraqi, Palestinian, etc. I don’t know. I don’t know anything about them. I’m talking about ourselves. In fact, the Belgian state that sent the refugees, there is no Arab state that sent them. We are very responsible for each other. And at the end of the month, we will get the salary to pay the rent and other things. We want to thank the state. The state needs more than thanks. Thank you. And what is more than thanking the state is that we want to give to the state. We want to work for the state. We want to build the state. In fact, the Belgian state that sent us, they didn’t give us in their country. In a healthy state, their attention is above the excess. They gave us a lot of attention. A lot of attention. For the health and education. For us or for others. Health insurance. Hospitals. Medicines. In fact, the state gave us a lot of attention.
[i] And how was their attention towards your children?
[r] More than that, the attention I want is for the children in school. That we support them in school. The state is healthy. They don’t want anybody to insult my children. They have the features of the children in school. They have the features of sport. They care about them. So, these are the sports. They care about them. In their life, they want to be active. Because they know this child here, the refugee child here. They know that this will benefit the children. This can give the country more meaning. The child is integrated, he is learning, he is studying. Tomorrow he will be employed, he will learn, he will give the country. We have a lot of interest in the state.
[i] Do your children speak French or are they facing some problems?
[r] No, all my children speak and speak fluently. Especially the youngest one, who is this child. And the oldest one speaks French. Imagine his older brothers. Each one is about 18 years older than him. They ask this child, what does this word mean? And this is also the oldest. The language stage has passed. They have passed now. Now they are attending courses. Now they are attending college. I mean, they studied at the university according to language standards. It’s a common language, it’s natural now. In the neighboring countries, they are suggesting languages, which is the French language So they can move to work as students. They have been learning well they have never faced any problem. No, not at all.
[i] What memories do you have of your country?
[r] Well, everything you see in my country, I look at it. I look at the sun in my country. It warms me. The light of the moon reminds me of it. I don’t know about the moon, it’s just like here. I used to stay at home at night, I would go to work in the middle of the day, and I’d wake up at dawn. The sky and the moon remind me of it. I miss my home. I haven’t seen my home in seven years. My home is destroyed. I miss it. I miss it. When I go to my home and see how it’s destroyed, I miss the home. I miss it. I put my head on my head, My head is on my head. I ask, what is it? I put my head on my head. He tells me that his home is his home. He has a home in his heart, and I want to tell him. I have a heartache, I want to tell my home how I separated from it for seven years. My children were born, I didn’t leave my home. I didn’t leave my home on my own. I went to our home. I remember the trees of my house, the flowers of the garden I planted, I remember all the roses I planted in the garden, I don’t even know what color it is now. The rose is gone. The tree is gone. The tree was burned. They burned it and burned it. The vineyard is gone. All the vineyards were here. All of them are with me now. I was buried. I was buried forever. Maybe you haven’t seen it in my life. I’m 55 years old. When will my country settle down? After 10 years? I’m 65 years old. If I’m 65 years old, what hope do I have to give my country? I don’t have any hope to give it. I’m my son. [name]. [name]. [name]. I don’t have any hope. Why should I have any hope? I’m 65 years old. If I become 65 years old? I’m buried. We left Syria, and we buried all the good things inside it, all the good memories inside it. I remember one time walking through a section of Belgium and smelled fire. I remember the smell of fire, fire, firewood, firewood has a certain smoke and a smell. I remember the smell of fire and smoke that the country had. I was here in [name]. I remember the smell of smoke in my country. The fire that I had in the winter. I made a tea glass for, I don’t know, I smelled it well. I smelled the memories. I heard every sound. All the memories were buried. The good memories were buried.
[i] What job did you do?
[r] What I did was I was an investor in a shop in Damascus. I was praying there for 20 years. I handed it over to his friends. He also has great memories. One day, I was in a shop in the Levant. One day, I closed the shop. I got sick, or I had something wrong. Or I chose to open the shop as usual. For example, I opened the shop on the 8th. I opened the shop on the 11th. A hundred phones were ringing at home. I said, Hello! Why is [name] not open today? I hope he’s fine. This is a memory. When you die at home, no one will know.
[i] Do you get some nightmares during your day from some of the difficult things you faced in your country or during the period when you turned against your children or your ancestors?
[r] Yes. Tomorrow, I’ll see something in my dream in my country. I’ll be here. In the morning, I’m sleepy. If I see something in my dream in my country, I’ll be here. In the morning, I’m lost. I’m lost. If I see something in my country, I’ll open my eyes and I won’t see it. I’ll be lost. This nightmare never separated me. Never. This nightmare never separated me. Picture it. You see yourself in my house, sleeping. You open your eyes and find me here. Where? Where is the place where you saw yourself when you loved it? Here, life is beautiful. Here, life is beautiful. It’s very acceptable. But we… We used to think our country was poor. But our country is rich. Believe me. Our country is richer than them. Richer than them. My country has four seasons. I have winter season, winter season, spring season, summer season, all of them. Each season has its own memory. The days of the moth, the days of the bird, In the winter, the sheep, the leaves, the leaves, the color of the trees changed. Nothing in my country has a good memory. But unfortunately my country is ruined. In my country, by the way, only the people are gone. The people are oppressed.
[i] Thank you very much for the interview. I wish you the best of luck and I hope you return to your home country and enjoy your visit and see what you are missing and yearning for.
[r] Thank you very much. I wish you to reach out to the world as a Syrian people who pray for peace. They are not terrorists. The Syrian people are not terrorists at all. The Syrian people have in their country all kinds of people who live with them. We have not separated religion from religion. On the contrary, I wish you to reach out to the world as a Syrian people who pray for peace and love for peace.
[i] Do you have a request to the government to ask them to help you in something specific?
[r] Which government?
[i] The Belgian government.
[r] I just wish the Belgian government to give us an opportunity to work. To work. To… To give us a life in which we can spend more than this. For example, I will give you an example. You see me today. I am not allowed to buy a car. To put my family in it. To go out and take care of myself. To look around the country. The car that I want to buy is not enough for me. I wish I could earn money with my own hands. I wish I could earn money with my own hands. If the government pays me money for my efforts, that means I have given something to the country. I want to give something to the country. I want to thank the country, I want to work for the country. I thank the government.
[i] Thank you very much and I wish you good luck.
[r] Allah will reward you with goodness and honour you.