Hello, my name is Nabil. I am 22 years old and I come from Damascus city, in Syria.
Back home I had the opportunity to go to university just for two weeks. I was studying English language but due to the war I had to flee from Syria.
I was living in Turkey three years ago. Then I came to Greece. I have been in Greece almost two years. First, I stayed in Chios island for seven months, and in Veria I have been for one year long. In the beginning, I tried to go to Germany because my younger brother stays there but my documents did not get accepted. They told me that my brother is old enough and they cannot send me to my brother. My brother is 18 years old now. Now, I am waiting for my passport. I have done all the procedure and I am just waiting for my passport. Maybe in April or May, I will have news.
My everyday life in Veria is good, I have friends! I spend my day by listening to music, doing sports with my friends here and sometimes I am cooking. I like cooking. As I am here alone, far away from my family I had to learn to cook. My little brother stays in Germany, my father passed away in 2011 and my mother lives in Turkey with my sister and her husband. My sister has two children.
If I get my documents I will see my future with my brother in Germany. If I move to Germany I would like to continue my studies in English literature.
I wish all the best for my country! I wish the war to end and go back to my country. My country is my home, it is my second mother. I had so many friends back home when I was a child. I have not seen them for six years, either my relatives, my uncles, my cousins.
Nowadays, I am studying with the help of NRC (Norwegian Refugee Council). They provide me a tablet by which I can study an online English course for people in my age. Until now, I have finished the first units of speaking and grammar. Today, I will start the third unit of listening and writing, so to improve my English. When I was in Chios, my English skills were better but now I am studying hard to become even better. In Chios, I was also learning the German language and in Syria, at school, they were teaching us English and French: ‘Bonjour Mademoiselle’. I was a good student and I liked the English and French language.
If I go back to Syria they will kill me. I ran away from my country because they were enforcing me to join their group. That’s why I left… I hate killing people.
I would also like to share one other experience I had during my journey to Greece. When I ran away from Turkey to Greece the first time, I was arrested by Turkish police. They told me that if I don’t run away they will throw me in the sea. I said to them: ‘I can’t go back to Syria, I am scared of my life there’ … but they threw me in the sea. I tried to swim… (exhale) In my life, I have escaped death twice. I don’t know if I am strong but I am still alive.
Storyteller’s name: Nabil
Interviewer’s name: Anxhela Dani
Country of origin: Syria
Sex: M
Age: 22