SU_T_35

[i] Welcome, brother. Can you introduce yourself and tell us who you are?
[r] I’m [name], I was born in 1949 in Homs, Syria. My family emigrated from Palestine in 1948. We lived in Homs during this period and the treatment was very good. I completed my primary, secondary, and high school studies in Homs. After I finished my studies, I moved to Al-Sham. I completed my studies at the Sayed Ali Institute. After I finished my studies at the Sayed Ali Institute, I was drafted to the army. I served for about 2.5 to 3 years. After I finished my mandatory service, I worked for about a year in Syria. After that, I was drafted to Saudi Arabia. I worked in a health center in Najran, Saudi Arabia. I worked in hospitals. During this period, my first wife married me. She was my teacher.
[i] How long did you stay in Saudi Arabia?
[r] 19 years. After that, I resigned. They told me that they wouldn’t let me go easily. I told them that I had to resign. I found that there was a difference between Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world. Let’s suppose that my wife is a teacher. She takes a leave of absence from her mother for 15 days. While in Saudi Arabia, she takes a leave of absence from her mother for 14 months. This is the difference. This is the knowledge of this Islamic country. Despite this, the people are very kind to us. They love us a lot. May God forgive the great rulers. After I finished my mandatory service in Saudi Arabia, I returned to Syria. I worked in the Sayed Ali Institute. Thank God, everything is fine. Everything is good. There is no difference between Syria and Palestine. Thank God, we were living a very comfortable life. In 2011, the crisis started. There was a need to go to Saudi Arabia. My sister and I went to Saudi Arabia. My sister, may God have mercy on her, was unable to attend the Hajj. We took her to the Hajj. During this period, the violence increased. In 2012, the violence increased even more. Explosions continued. We had to leave our homes. We left everything we had. We went to a place called Douala in Damascus. During this period, we rented a rented house. We didn’t have any money. We left everything we had. During this period, my daughter’s illness started. She was diagnosed with a blood disease. The doctors diagnosed her with a blood disease. She was diagnosed with a blood disease. She had a blood disease.
[i] What was the cause of her illness?
[r] She was diagnosed with a blood disease. It was a pure defect. After the diagnosis, she had white blood cells. The white blood cells increased. The number of white blood cells increased. There was a doctor there, a blood doctor. She said that she had to give her pills, that she had to give her pills, that they were similar to chemicals. In order to lower the number of white blood cells. She was not safe. She was not safe. The doctor told me that I had to have a clean-plant operation. You don’t want to get infected. You don’t want to spend your whole life eating chemicals. You have to have a clean-plant operation.
[i] How old is your daughter?
[r] She is 29 years old now.
[i] How long has she been suffering from this disease?
[r] Since 2012, she has been suffering from this disease. Since 2012.
[i] What is her treatment?
[r] Her treatment must be from a clean-plant operation. They took her to Khaz’a and did a study in Al-Sham. During this time, she was frequently going to hospitals. She was frequently going to hospitals. She was frequently going to hospitals. She had to have a clean-plant operation. She was constantly vomiting blood. During this time, her blood pressure would drop. It would drop to 7, 6 or 8. She would have to vomit blood during this time.
[i] How long did you stay here in Italy? How did you come here?
[r] First of all, we left Syria because of a doctor’s request. He said that our operation in Syria is difficult. The success rate is very low, 20%. It is very dangerous in Syria. He said that it would be better for her to go to Lebanon. He gave her a complete medical report about her condition. We translated it into English and German. We went to Lebanon. During this time in Syria, my wife passed away due to a doctor’s mistake. They implanted an artificial joint in her. It didn’t work. Within a year and a half, three artificial joints were implanted. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. Her illness worsened. She had kidney failure and liver problems. I don’t know what else. She died on August 25, 2015. A month after her death, we took the papers. During this time, we moved from one house to another. We moved to four houses. The last house we rented was 60,000 L.E. It is difficult to imagine the rent. We went to Lebanon to get a doctorate. We went to Lebanon. In Lebanon, they asked us for a medical examination at the American University of Lebanon in Beirut. It was worth about $3,200. It was difficult, but we asked for help. Several sources helped us to get this examination. During this time, we met with Doctors Without Borders, the British Church Association. We met with a group of doctors, including Dr. Grizou. He saw her case and her examination. He was deeply affected by this examination. He told us that we should follow up on her case. About five weeks later, we came back. He asked us to take care of the children. He told us that we should travel abroad to Italy. We were ready. Within 15 days, we had a meeting with the Italian embassy in Beirut. They signed us and took our passports. In 2011 or 2012, we went to Italy.
[i] In which year?
[r] In 2018. We went to Italy in 2018. We stayed for a while in a village called Toribaleche. Then they took us to Torino. We are now in Torino. Thank God, the treatment was good. The medical staff was very good. I thank the Italian government for this medical aid.
[i] When you first came to Italy, how did you find the situation? How did you see yourself in this strange foreign country?
[r] First of all, we didn’t expect to leave Syria. But because of the current situation and my daughter’s illness, we had to leave Syria. Thank God, Italy welcomed us very well. Whether in Rome or Torino. We thank them for this welcome. The medical care was very good. The medical aid was very little. But we thank God.
[i] What difficulties did you face when you came to Lebanon?
[r] It was easy for us to come to Lebanon because of the medical committee. The Church of Protestants and the medical group we met in Beirut. But we faced difficulties in Beirut. We looked for help to carry out the operation. We didn’t find anyone to respond to our calls. No churches, no associations, no one helped us. But in Italy, thank God, the medical aid was very good. Thank God, we thank them. They provided us with enough medical aid. There is another thing. The medical tests are being repeated. Even though we did medical tests in the whole of Lebanon. The same tests were done in Beirut. They repeated the tests in other hospitals in Italy.
[i] What is the current situation? The current health situation.
[r] They asked us for the last thing. The professor at the San Lugia hospital, the hospital of Thalassemia. The doctor at the hospital of Thalassemia. They asked us to transfuse blood for two or three months. So that they can inject the nucleus. And then they will do the operation of planting.
[i] Did you find a donor for this operation?
[r] We tried. Either through the blood bank at the Thalassemia hospital. Or a donor from a family. But we are afraid that some families may have Thalassemia. So it is difficult to find a donor. Because there is a problem in Syria. Or in other Arab countries. The marriage of relatives is happening a lot. This person takes his cousin. This person takes his nephew. In the past, there were no medical tests. We are looking for a Thalassemia patient. To find out if he has Thalassemia. Or a Thalassemia patient or a Thalassemia patient.
[i] This is a genetic problem.
[r] Yes, genetic. I may have Thalassemia. But my cousin is 14 or 15 years old. I don’t have any Thalassemia. But I have Thalassemia. And my cousin’s wife is also Thalassemia. This may have affected the transfer of the patient to his children. Yes, exactly.
[i] How are you living during this period? Have you been able to adapt to the environment?
[r] We are adapting, thank God. But it is also difficult because we can’t go to school. Because most of our days we go to the hospital. To follow my son to the hospital. And the next day we go to school. Some days we go to school in the morning. And we don’t go back home until 3 or 4 in the evening. We are tired and exhausted. We can’t go to school and learn the language. On the contrary, we are very interested in learning the language. So that we can practice our life in Italy. And we can easily move around with the Italians.
[i] What about work? Since you are a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine. What do you do here?
[r] Since I am a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine. It is difficult for me to work as a linguist. It is difficult for me to work as a linguist directly in front of the patient. But I can work as a drug dealer. I can arrange the drugs. I can organize them. I can follow the expert advice. This is what I am good at.
[i] So you wish to work in a field that is specific to you.
[r] Yes. This is my job. If I were 70 years old, it would be difficult for me to work in the country. But I can work in warehouses that are not in front of the patient. I can follow the drugs. I can arrange them. I can follow the expert advice. This is what I am good at.
[i] This means that you are ready to work.
[r] Yes, I am ready.
[i] You don’t have any age problem.
[r] No, I have not. Thank God. Despite my age, I am in good health. And I can work easily.
[i] What do you think about the Syrian culture here in Italy?
[r] The cultural level in Syria is good. It is very good. I can give you an example. My wife had a baccalaureate. She was a teacher in Saudi Arabia. She studied religion. Some teachers came from Egypt. They graduated from Al-Azhar University. My wife had a baccalaureate. They asked her about the rules of religion, singing, and Tajweed. They didn’t know these things. She told them that she was a teacher in Al-Azhar. They told her that she was a teacher in Syria. It is hard, but the education here is better than in Syria.
[i] The level of education is good.
[r] Yes, the level of education in Syria is very good.
[i] What about the Syrian traditions? Food, music, for example. How do you live in your days here in Italy?
[r] We prepare our food in our homes. We don’t depend on the restaurants and bars in Italy. It is different from our customs and traditions. It is different from our customs and traditions. Since we are Muslims, we can only eat halal meat. The restaurants and bars are not suitable for us. We have to prepare our food in our homes. We listen to Italian music, but we don’t fully understand it. I can speak English, but Italian is difficult for me.
[i] Do you still have family and relatives in Syria?
[r] I have four daughters who are married in Syria. One of them came to Lebanon with Dr. Bouzouk. Dr. Bouzouk is studying law. She is studying four subjects. She will get her certificate and come to Lebanon with us. They promised to help her in Lebanon.
[i] How long have you not seen your daughters?
[r] I haven’t seen them for about six months.
[i] Have you ever thought about emigrating to a European country like Italy?
[r] No, I never thought I would leave Syria. Syria is a beautiful country before the war. But after the war, there was destruction and danger. Even when we lived outside our camp, there was shelling and shelling every day. We didn’t know if we would return home safely or not.
[i] As a refugee, especially as a political refugee, what do you think is missing in this country for the benefit of refugees?
[r] We need to pay more attention to refugees. We need to pay more attention to them. In addition to that, we need to take good care of our health. We also need to pay more attention to our education. But we still have health problems. It is difficult for us to attend school. We are supposed to have private lessons for me and my daughters.
[i] Thank you for coming and thank you for answering our questions. We hope to see you soon.
[r] Thank you all for your interest in us. God bless you all.
[i] Thank you.