Talk to them and find out who they are

Listening to him all I wondered was how do you just start from scratch over and over again. — Gül Hür

His Story

While I was studying to become a lawyer at a University in Damascus, I needed to work in order to complete my studies. I worked in various sectors such as telecommunication and insurance companies. My university was far away from where I used to live. It was very easy to go between the areas before the war. Within 10 minutes you could reach all the corners of the city. The war brought checkpoints and this was something very weird for me. I felt locked. I just wanted to stay in my area. Because it was like crossing borders within my own city. In 2013, I could not complete my law degree, I lost my job because there was no business and my mandatory military service was approaching. I felt like I couldn’t make any plans in Syria anymore and my hope was lost. So I left.

Beirut was my first stop. I lived there for about 6 months and life was extremely expensive.I couldn’t find a job. So I used my time to do volunteering work for refugees. There wasn’t much happening there for me, I was always looking for other opportunities. One day a friend of mine wanted me to help him in opening up a restaurant in Sanaa, Yemen. I thought this would be a good start and I took the option and went to Yemen.

Everything was going really well. I finally adjusted to Yemen, work was picking up and people were really nice. One day, while I was working, a fellow Syrian was looking to hire local Syrians to work. I decided that this can be a good career path and I took the offer. I worked there from September 2014 till the war started in Yemen.

When Saudi Arabia started to bomb Yemen in march 2015 it was horrible, it was like hell. I literally stayed in my house for one week and didn’t leave. I was looking for options to leave Yemen. There were many ways to be smuggled to Oman, Saudi Arabia or Africa, but these paths were dangerous options.

Foreign citizens were being evacuated by their governments. But since Syria was in war, there were no evacuations for Syrian Citizens. I was lucky, I had friends that were working for the UN and the Red Cross. They secured me a seat on an evacuation airplane for Russian Citizens to Moscow. I arrived to Moscow and was granted a visa to stay only ten days. I decided to go back to Beirut and I wanted to visit my family in Damascus, so I made my way back. An old friend from Turkey suggested that Istanbul could be a new start for me. I was really lucky because Turkey still allowed free travel for Syrians to enter the country. Right after I arrived, the visa requirements had changed.

At the end of 2015, I found myself in Istanbul, a country where I didn’t know how to speak the language, but I felt more comfortable here, I felt at home. The Turkish culture was very close to the Syrian. I had to start from scratch once more. Before finding a job at a wedding guide website, I did a lot of volunteer and translation work. Things are great here for me, but I need something more stable and secure, for the future.

Right now I am applying for going to Germany. I started to learn German now. I feel that in Germany, I would be able to continue my studies and have better opportunities. If it all works out, I want to find a way to bring my family with me. I have missed them very much.

Don’t believe everything immediately. Don’t just judge people because of what you heard about them. Talk to them and find out who they are. This is what would really make peace I think.