Είμαι ο Basel και είμαι 27 ετών. Η καταγωγή μου είναι από τη Παλαιστίνη, αλλά γεννήθηκα στη Συρία ως πρόσφυγας. Στη Συρία σπούδασα χημικός μηχανικός, στο πανεπιστήμιο. Εκτός αυτού, είμαι και ράφτης. Δραπέτευσα από τη Συρία λόγω του πολέμου και της κακής κατάστασης που επικρατούσε. Έτσι, αποφάσισα να ξεκινήσω το ταξίδι μου προς την Ευρώπη.
Το πρώτο βήμα ήταν να περάσω από τα σύνορα Συρία-Τουρκία. Η πρώτη προσπάθεια ήταν αρκετά δύσκολη. Ο τουρκικός στρατός με συνέλαβε στα σύνορα και με χτύπησε χωρίς λόγο…απλά, επειδή περνούσα τα σύνορα. Μετά από αυτό, όλο το σώμα μου τραυματίστηκε και όταν σταμάτησαν να με χτυπούν…με έστειλαν πίσω στη Συρία. Στο τέλος, πριν με αφήσουν ελεύθερο, μου είπαν ένα πράγμα: «Αν σε δούμε ξανά…θα σε σκοτώσουμε». Αργότερα, πήγα στο νοσοκομείο και έμεινα εκεί για δύο μέρες. Συνέχεια σκεφτόμουν με ποιό τρόπο θα φύγω από τη Τουρκία, ωστέ να μην γυρίσω πίσω στη Συρία. Όταν έφυγα από το νοσοκομείο, πήγα κατευθείαν στα σύνορα και προσπάθησα να δραπετεύσω ξανά από τη Συρία. Τη δεύτερη φορά, κατάφερα να περάσω τα σύνορα. Μερικοί αστυνομικοί που βρίσκονταν εκεί, πυροβολούσαν ακριβώς πάνω από τα κεφάλια μας.
Συνεπώς, με πίστη και δύναμη, έφτασα στην Τουρκία ζωντανός. Έμεινα εκεί μόνο για εφτά ημέρες. Συνέχεια πήγαινα από το ένα μέρος στο άλλο. Έψαχνα να βρώ έναν λαθρέμπορο, που με λίγα χρήματα, θα μπορούσα να διασχίσω τη χώρα και να έρθω στην Ελλάδα. Λίγες μέρες αργότερα, βρήκα κάποιον που με βοήθησε να περάσω τα σύνορα για να έρθω στην Ελλάδα. Στη δική μου ομάδα ήμασταν περίπου 70 άτομα, που διασχίσαμε τη θάλασσα κολυμπώντας. Επιπλέον, πολλές γυναίκες και παιδιά ήταν μαζί μας, αλλά τελικά φτάσαμε στην Ελλάδα ασφαλείς. Ήταν 4 Απριλίου του 2016.
Νομίζαμε πως θα μείνουμε εδώ, στην Ελλάδα, όπως οι φίλοι μας που ήρθαν στην Ευρώπη πριν από εμάς. Έμειναν εδώ μόνο για δύο εβδομάδες. Πέρασε λίγος καιρός μέχρι να συνειδητοποιήσω ότι βρισκόμουν σε ένα μικρό κέντρο φιλοξενίας προσφύγων, σε ένα ελληνικό νησί, στη μέση της θάλασσας. Έτσι, ξεκίνησα τη «νέα ζωή μου» εκεί. Έκανα μερικούς νέους φίλους διαφορετικών εθνικοτήτων. Επίσης, έμαθα να μιλάω τη γλώσσα τους για να μπορώ να επικοινωνώ μαζί τους. Προσπαθούσα να τους μιλάω όσο το δυνατόν περισσότερο μπορούσα. Ακούγοντας τις ιστορίες του και συζητώντας μαζί τους, προσπαθούσα να τους κάνω να νιώσουν καλύτερα. Στη συνέχεια, ξεκίνησα να προσφέρω τη βοήθειά μου, σαν μεταφραστής, εθελοντικά σε μια οργάνωση. Δεν ήταν εύκολο να ακούω τους ανθρώπους να παραπονιούνται και να μην μπορώ να κάνω κάτι γι’ αυτό…«τα χέρια μου ήταν δεμένα». Βοηθούσα σχεδόν ένα χρόνο και δέκα μήνες και συνεχώς ανυπομονούσα να έχω μια καλή ζωή. Έψαχνα για ελπίδα και ευτυχία στα μάτια των ανθρώπων. Μετά από εκείνη τη περίοδο, πήγα στην Αθήνα και ακόμη και τώρα ζω την ίδια ζωή. Σχετικά με το μέλλον μου, ο κύριος στόχος μου είναι να αποκτήσω τα έγγραφά μου και να πάω πίσω στο Λίβανο και από εκεί στη Συρία…στην οικογένειά μου!

I came to Denmark on the 16th of February 2015. I used to work in IT-support in the Danish environmental protection agency in Aarhus. Before that I worked with IT development in Novicell. I stopped working there because I got accepted at the University in Aarhus, to study civil engineering, which I also studies in Damascus.
I just lived like any normal child in Syria. When I was 11 years old I had already finished all of the computing courses that were available to me in Syria. I was the youngest person to do that. The held a big party for me at the Maamoun institute in Damascus, which has now become a private university. I took many courses. I started with windows and the office programs. Then they gave me an internet course, because the internet was so new in Syria, at that time. After that I started with accounting. This was at the age of nine. Then I got a course on how to repair computers – building them regarding software and hardware. Then the accountant at my father’s clothes company got sick, so I could help my father with that job. I worked both in the company and in the warehouses. From that time I started as an accountant there.

At that time I started to get a design course at the University. There I worked with correct drawing, Photoshop and advanced Photoshop. I learned the program Dreamweaver. This was at the age of ten. Then I learned 3D max and Maya, which deals with computer animation. Then I was offered AutoCAD which is a program that works with architectural planning and civil engineering. This was the last course they could offer me. The youngest person there was 25 years old, and I was only 11 years old.  After these courses they had nothing more to offer me. Then I just started teaching myself, practicing and getting the experience myself. Just to better myself. At that time the fastest internet connection in Syria was 8 Kbit pr. Second.
I also got experience working in my fathers company. Then I started to get fashion design courses. I am not the best, but I can design dresses for girls. I got a lot of courses in English also. I could have taken more courses in Jordan, but they would not let me travel there, because I am Palestinian. So I just focused on working in my fathers company. Then I studied It-engineering, where I got an honor degree. Once I was in a competition in typing and coding, where I typed 182 letters pr. Minute in both English and Arabic. Then I was offered a job in another company, but I couldn’t go, because in Syria, when you are already in one company, you can’t just work somewhere else.  It’s like the football teams, in a way – if you for example are playing for Real Madrid, you can’t just go and play for Barcelona. That is just the system in Syria, so I just worked in my father’s company and studies at the same time.

The problem in Syria is that the information is restricted. The reason why most people have a hard time learning English or getting more information, other that what is offered in the library in Damascus, which is Assad’s library, is that the information in censored. It is retsticted. For example, a lot of books are prohibited. I don’t want to read the books they want me to read – I want to choose my own books. Fx. Google chrome is also prohibited in Syria, and so is Youtube and all of Apple’s applications. I had to use my skills in computing to break through the firewalls, so I could access the information.
The last days of my life in Syria, when I was working in my father’s company, The Free Syrian Army captures me and tried to kill me. At that time my life changed drastically. I as driving in my car, and a motorbike tried to stop me. There were two people on the motorbike. They had automatic machineguns, and waved me to the side of the street. They wanted me to stop the car and give them the keys. I realized I was in trouble, so I drove away as fast as I could. 160 mph down a very narrow street, where there was many dumpsters. I was surprised to find out that it was an organized operation to stop me. There were two 4 wheel drive cars blocking the end of the streets in both directions, and they had anti-tank rockets. They had big speakers ordering me to stop, or they would blow up my car. I had to stop! When I looked to the left, there was my fathers company. I was so nervous, that I did not recognize where I was. I ran towards the company, and normally the door was open, because there are always many goods going in and out. But that day it was closed. Something was wrong. I knew it was organized.

As I said, some days I worked there as an accountant, working with the payroll. On this particular day, when they wanted to capture me, it was payday. They wanted money. We used to deliver the money to the employees and the business men, we did business with, on Thursdays. On that day I was already nervous, because we had been getting threatening calls. I had told my father, that I did not want to deliver money that day, but my father said I had to do it. He said he would take care of me. I said ok, but I would only deliver to the employees – not the businessmen. I delivered 6500 dollars, instead of 36500, to the employees. We deal in dollars, because that monetary unit is stable. We only convert the money when we need it. I left the money in the car, ran to the factory door and rang the alarm bell. I rang it 12 times, but no one answered. So they caught me. It was 12:30 in the afternoon. It was a sunny day. It was Ramadan, so I was thirsty, hungry and tired.

They caught me, and started to hit me in a very violent way. They took me to a dried out river. There was a very bad smell and many insects, because many people had been killed there. They put me on my knees, by the river, after they had beat me. They were saying “Allahu Akbar”, and started shooting into the air. Then, suddenly, one of the men’s phone rang. It was an old Nokia, so I could hear what the person was saying. I could hear that it was one of the businessmen that worked for my father’s company, so he knew me. He told the men to leave me alone, and not to kill me. But the man wanted to make me very nervous. He said to me, while I was on my knees “I do not want to pay one dollar for a bullet to execute you. I will kill you with a blunt knife”. I said ok, because at that time I just wanted to get out of the situation. He shot into the air again, and pulled my head back, as if he was about to cut my throat. Then he stopped. He said, “How much money do you have in the car”? I said “Why are you asking, when you already know”? He dragged me back to the car, took the money, and told me to call my father, whom was at our house. At that time I thought my father did not know anything. I had forgotten that we had put cameras in the streets around the company, so he already knew. I called my father, and said “They have taken me.” My father said, he knew. He wanted to talk to them. They told my father thay wanted 40.000 dollars to let me go. They made a deal, that my father would give them 20.000 dollars including the 6500 dollars from the car. The problem was, they said they wanted the money in 10 minutes. My father said “Give me a chance to get the money, and get my son.” My father did not know where I was, only that they had taken me, so he called my uncle at the factory. He told him to go to where The Syrian Free Army was holding me, deliver the money, and take me to the hospital.
From the hospital, we all escaped from Syria to Egypt. We stayed there for one year and tried to make a new life for ourselves. Unfortunately, we found that there was no way we could start a new company there, so we went to Beirut in Lebanon. We stayed there for a year, but we spent a lot of money, because the cost of living there is very expensive. I got a job at a mobile phone company, but he would only pay me 10-15 dollars a day, and that was not even enough to pay for transport. I had to quit. It was a shame because I liked my job. I was working with what I liked, and I had something to do, instead of staying home.

We went back to Syria to our house. It was in a safe area – the same area where Assad lived. There were many checkpoints etc. Unfortunately, we started to be threatened again, so we decided to flee to Denmark. 17 members of our family fled with us, but not everyone went to Denmark. Some went to Germany and some to Sweden.
I have many ideas for projects and small businesses. I do not just want to live on student grants while I am studying. I want to work on the side. Maybe I can use one of my ideas to do that. I am glad to be in Denmark. Mostly people are very kind. On social Facebook, there are many racist groups, but that is not the reality I see. We have many Danish friends whom help us a lot.
It was not easy at all to reach Denmark. Many Danish people ask me “Are you glad, you have an apartment here in Denmark”? “Are you glad you are here in Denmark”? Of course, I am happy, but I want people to know that I had a very good life in Syria. A very luxurious life. Not like here in Denmark. I had a big house with housekeepers and big cars.  Some people in Denmark ask “Why do you not go back to Syria, then”? I want them to know, that our ONLY wish is to do that. It is not safe now, so we cannot.
When I left, I left separately. My family members followed me through Aleppo. I met up with all of my family members in Turkey. I went through Alqamishli to Turkey. I dealt with a smuggler, and paid him money. We started the journey at 3 pm. He said to me, I just had to wait for ten minutes then another car would come and get me. That was a big lie. We tried to cross the border three times, but the Turkish police caught us and sent us back.

It was not easy for me to walk in the mountains. I was so tired. The time was 7 pm. I could not continue to walk in the dangerous mountains. I went back to the smugglers and said that could not continue. They said “You have paid a lot of money to have a good trip, so stay beside the micro-bus, and I will arrange a trip just for you”. I had to believe him, because I had no other possibilities, but I was afraid because of my previous experiences. He waited until everyone had left the place, then they got their weapons out, and told me to empty my pockets. I did what they said. I do not know why they believed that I gave them everything that I had, because I had a secret pocket with another mobile phone. They tool my luggage and my water. On these types of trips, you take better care of your water than of your money, because money cannot save your life.

The smugglers gave me an offer I could not refuse. They said “Now you must go and never come back, or we will kill you”. At that point I felt like I had no choice. I wanted to get to Turkey as soon as possible. They just said to me “Do you see those four mountains”? I said “Yes”. They said “Cross them”. At that time, I just focused all of my energy on one thing: to find the other group, that I had been travelling with until that point. I ran and ran to catch up with them or just to find any sign of life. Lucky for me, the Turkish police had stopped them, so I found them. Even though I did not know those people, I felt such a relief – like I had been reunited with my family – because it gave me hope. Then we started to support eachother as we crossed the mountains. We held hands so we could catch eachother, climbing up the mountains. It is very dangerous because of the steep incline. We had to cross four mountains and three villages. At the top of the second mountain, my foot got stuck between two big rocks. Two strong men from our group tried to move one of the rocks. While they were moving the rock, to free my foot, they accidentally broke my chin. It was an open fracture. I screamed so my group left me. They ran. They were afraid to get discovered by the police. I was dizzy, and felt it was so painful. It was dark. I laid down and could not move, because my foot was still stuck. Then two animals, which looked like dogs, approached. They were not dogs, but hyenas. I saw two people coming towards me. It was two of the members from my group that had come back to help me.  They lit some sticks on fire to chase away the animals. I said thank you for chasing the dogs away. They told me that they were not dogs, but hyenas. The people who helped me lived in the mountains, so they were experienced with that. The two men from the group laid down next to me, and pushed the rock away with their feet. One of the guys from the group was medically trained. He told me to bite down on a stick, and then they put the bone back in my leg. They said I had two choices. I could either go back to the smugglers or they could try to carry me over the mountains. I am so grateful to them, because I am very heavy. It took a lot of strength for them to carry me across two mountains on such a narrow edge.

Finally, I got to Turkey, where I was reunited with my family. From there we travelled to Greece by yacht. A police boat caught us in the middle of the sea. The captain talked to them, and they let us go. Finally, we were in Greece. We were stuck there for ten months. From there we walked to Austria. We walked in 35 degrees below zero through Macedonia, Serbia, and Beograd, Hungary. From Hungary, they brought cars to go to Vienna. We had walked for long periods. I wore six jackets and four pairs of trousers. We ate just snickers and mars bars because they were very light weight and give a lot of energy. From Vienna we got a plane to Copenhagen. Finally on the 16th of February 2015 we arrived.

My life before the war was acceptable. I was studying at high school, and I had a certification as a make-up artist from an institute in Damascus. I have also studied one year of accounting in 2015.
In 2015, I had to escape from Syria because of the war. I escaped to Turkey, then to Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Austria, Germany and finally Denmark. I arrived in DK on the 16th of November 2015.
I was sent to Sandholm refugee camp, and was then moved to another camp called Auderød.  After that they moved me to yet another camp in Næstved.
I was granted permission to stay in Denmark on the 28th of January 2016. Now I live in the municipality of Aarhus with my husband. I consider it a fantastic and good life. I am studying the Danish language, and I hope to work in the same field in Denmark, as a make-up artist, as I did in Damascus.
I would love to send a message to the politicians, to look upon refugees in a more open and positive way.

Svenska: Jag heter Raja och kommer från Palestina men född i Syrien. Jag har bott 1 år i Sverige. Tillsammans mot rasism.

A Million Stories Sweden: Nizar Keblawi, Nina Olsson, Sara Sarabi, Malin Gillberg, Daniel Björklund, Mats Nordström.

A Million Stories Sweden volunteers: Fariborz Ghadir, Mohamad Mohsin, Yazan Saad, Tarek Aloudallah, Dalia Saleem, Yara Ali, Ahmad Younes, Chaimae Hamri.

In association with

Svenska: Jag heter Samah och är palestinier från Syrien. Jag kom till Sverige för 3 år sedan.

A Million Stories Sweden: Nizar Keblawi, Nina Olsson, Sara Sarabi, Malin Gillberg, Daniel Björklund, Mats Nordström.

A Million Stories Sweden volunteers: Fariborz Ghadir, Mohamad Mohsin, Yazan Saad, Tarek Aloudallah, Dalia Saleem, Yara Ali, Ahmad Younes, Chaimae Hamri.

In association with

Svenska: Jag heter Ahmed och har bott 1 år i Sverige, jag kom från staden Alramla i Palestina.

A Million Stories Sweden: Nizar Keblawi, Nina Olsson, Sara Sarabi, Malin Gillberg, Daniel Björklund, Mats Nordström.

A Million Stories Sweden volunteers: Fariborz Ghadir, Mohamad Mohsin, Yazan Saad, Tarek Aloudallah, Dalia Saleem, Yara Ali, Ahmad Younes, Chaimae Hamri.

In association with

Svenska: Jag heter Ghadeer och kommer från Palestina. Jag har bott i Sverige i 4 år. Jag har ritat en bild som symboliserar ensamhet och försök att komma in i samhället.

A Million Stories Sweden: Nizar Keblawi, Nina Olsson, Sara Sarabi, Malin Gillberg, Daniel Björklund, Mats Nordström.

A Million Stories Sweden volunteers: Fariborz Ghadir, Mohamad Mohsin, Yazan Saad, Tarek Aloudallah, Dalia Saleem, Yara Ali, Ahmad Younes, Chaimae Hamri.

In association with

I lived a regular life in Aleppo, like any human being. I went to school and played with friends when I was little. I remember I did not go out often, because there were big streets and cars. I have 3 siblings and I’m the middle child. I loved going out and staying out for a long time.

I loved going to the Alnerab refugee camp, where everyone knows each other. Aleppo is a big city with five million inhabitants. A city that never sleeps. You could always find things to do there. It is also a cultural city. I became interested in drama when I was 15 years old. I loved reading a lot, so I started studying drama. The war started when I had studied 1 year at the university.

After 1.5 years, I decided to leave Syria. I am Palestinian, born in Syria. The only Arab country that received us was Algeria. I enjoyed the country. The people were very nice and it was a very nice country. But it was hard to get paper to stay there. If I had been able to get a residence permit in Algeria, I would have stayed there all my life. In Algeria I had to go to the police every month to prove that I’m on this planet. Otherwise they counted me like I did’nt exist.

I decided to work and save some money, to be able to flee again. I fled to Libya and then via boat to Italy. I had no feelings, I was not afraid. It felt like it did’nt matter if I died. But the whole trip was tough with a lot of difficulties. The goal was Holland. I had heard a lot about the country and the cultural life there. I arrived in Holland. But my brother called me and told me that Sweden is a better country when it comes to migration. He was right.

I went to Sweden instead. I’m having a good time in Sweden, but I had to struggle. The difference between Sweden and Syria is that in Sweden fighting leeds to results. I have learned Swedish and right now I work full time. My family has also come to Sweden.

My goal in the future is to work in the theater industry. I have a friend who is a very good pianist in Aleppo. He did’nt  want to flee. He stayed and usually he jokes: Somebody has to stay and die, it does’nt look good if there is a war and nobody is dying.

I miss Aleppo a lot. It is a historic city with ancient traditions. 70 percent of the city has disappeared. I visited Seville in Spain  not long ago and I felt happy because it reminded me of Aleppo. The city means a lot to me. It’s a shame that historic buildings and sites are bombed during war. One should not destroy historical sites. This applies not only to Aleppo but to the whole world.

Svenska: Jag heter Motaz och är 24 år gammal.

Jag levde ett vanligt liv i Aleppo, som vilken människa som helst. Jag gick i skolan och lekte med vänner när jag var liten. Jag minns att jag inte gick ut ofta, för det var stora gator och bilar. Jag har 3 syskon och jag är mellanbarnet. Jag älskade att gå ut och vara ute länge. Jag älskade att gå till flyktingförläggningen Alnerab, där alla känner varandra.

Aleppo är en stor stad med fem miljoner invånare. En stad som aldrig sover. Man kunde alltid hitta på saker att göra, det är också en kulturell stad. Jag började intressera mig för teater när jag var 15 år gammal. Jag älskade att läsa mycket, så jag började studera teater. Kriget startade när jag hade studerat 1 år på universitetet.

Efter 1,5 år bestämde jag mig för att lämna Syrien. Jag är palestinier, född i Syrien. Det enda arabiska landet som tog emot oss var Algeriet. Jag trivdes i landet. Människorna var mycket trevliga och det var ett mycket fint land. Men det var svårt att få papper för att stanna kvar där. Om jag hade kunnat få uppehållstillstånd i Algeriet så skulle jag ha stannat där hela livet. I Algeriet var jag tvungen att gå till polisen varje månad för att bevisa att jag finns på denna planet. Annars räknade de mig som att jag inte fanns.

Jag bestämde mig för att arbeta och spara pengar, för att kunna fly vidare. Jag flydde till Libyen och sedan via båt till Italien. Jag hade inga känslor, jag var inte rädd. Det kändes som att det inte spelade någon roll om jag dog. Men hela resan var tuff med en massa svårigheter. Målet var Holland. Jag hade hört mycket om landet och kulturlivet där. Jag kom fram till Holland. Men min bror ringde mig och berättade att Sverige är ett bättre land när det gäller migration. Han hade rätt. Jag åkte dit istället och jag trivs mycket bra här.

Jag trivs bra i Sverige, men jag har fått kämpa mycket. Skillnaden mot Syrien är att kämpandet ger resultat. Jag har lärt mig svenska och just nu jobbar jag heltid. Min familj har också kommit till Sverige. Mitt mål i framtiden är att arbeta inom teaterbranschen.

Jag har en vän som är en mycket duktig pianist i Aleppo. Han ville inte fly. Han stannade kvar och brukar skoja: Någon måste stanna för att dö. Det ser inte bra ut om det är krig och ingen dör.

Jag saknar Aleppo mycket. Det är en historisk stad med gamla traditioner. 70 procent av staden har försvunnit. Jag besökte Sevilla i Spanien för att tag sen och blev glad, för det påminde mig om Aleppo. Staden betyder mycket för mig. Det är synd att historiska byggnader och platser bombas under krig. Man borde inte förstöra historiska platser. Det gäller inte bara Aleppo utan hela världen.

A Million Stories Sweden: Nizar Keblawi, Nina Olsson, Sara Sarabi, Malin Gillberg, Daniel Björklund, Mats Nordström.

A Million Stories Sweden volunteers: Fariborz Ghadir, Mohamad Mohsin, Yazan Saad, Tarek Aloudallah, Dalia Saleem, Yara Ali, Ahmad Younes, Chaimae Hamri.

In association with

My name is Hiba, is 38, Palestinians and born in Syria. I originally come from Haifa. I came to Sweden in November 2013. At the moment I work as a French teacher.

I was born in Damascus. My mother is from the Yarmuk refugee settlement and my dad is from Aleppo. I lived in Aleppo until I became 4 years old. Then my parents got a scholarship and we traveled to Bulgaria. We lived there until I finished third grade. Then my parents got work in Algeria. We moved to the capital of Algeria. There I read the fourth, fifth and sixth grade and learned french. Then there was unrest in Algeria. The president was murdered and the military went out on the streets. Then we returned to Syria

I lived in Syria and studied seventh, eighth and ninth grade in Aleppo. I continued to study in Damascus. I studied french literature at the university. I also studied to become an interpreter. After my studies, I worked as a french teacher.

I had my home and my job. There was nothing that happened that meant I that I would have to leave home or my work. Although It was obvious that the job became tougher and that life became more difficult. But I worked in a large french company and we continued our work.

I was well off economically compared to others who encountered difficulties. The economy was not a problem, it was safety. It felt like there was not enough air in Syria and did not want to stay for a single day.

During that time, many people fled through Egypt. It was legal for us Palestinians who were born in Syria to go to Egypt. The goal was to flee with a boat from Egypt to Italy. I fled at first, but I met a person from Syria, that my family knew. He was going the same way, so we decided to flee together. I thought that we could just take the boat trip the next day. But It did’nt work that way. It was much worse. Our trip was delayed for several reasons. One day they blamed the policemen, another day there was a storm, another day the smuggler did’nt answer the phone. We were 10 days late.

Meanwhile I lived with an Egyptian family, where I felt more than welcome. Then the day came when I was going to flee futher away. At first we had to take small boats that would take us to bigger boats. They were fishing boats. On the way through the sea, the Egyptian boat police came from all directions. We saw a lot of lights from their boats and they jumped into our boat and arrested us. They took us back to an Egyptian military base and there we had to stay one night. Children began to cry and people were worried. We did’nt know what would happen to us. Then they took us to a prison called “Qarmoz”.

The prison is located a bit outside of Alexandria and is known to be a prison for drug dealers. We were shocked. People cried and everything we had paid to the smugglers had disappeared. What would happen? Our papers and passports had disappeared. You can’t imagine what a shock we had. They told us to book the trip. What are you waiting for, book and go home! You will not get a residence permit in Egypt!

I think everything had a meaning, because the same night we were going to flee over the ocean, there was another boat that dropped and many died. We might have drowned if we had not been taken by the police. It could have been really bad. I have learned this lesson during the trip:  it could have been a lot worse. One should be grateful.

After 18 days I came out of Qarmouz. I booked a trip to Turkey. I went through difficult situations, fatigue and I was imprisoned. I had no future in Turkey, so I decided to continue.

Smugglers are not nice people and not human. They screamed and hurried with us. They never told us where we were and where we would go. It was just to come along. They treated people as sheep. We told them that we are people that they should talk to us!

The second lesson I learned during the flight was to swich off. I am a person who pay too much attention to details. But you can feel bad if you pay too much attention to all the details around you. I tried to think of something else and not look at what was happening around me, because it was so scary. It felt like something bad would happen. I noticed that the smugglers were criminals. I thought about how we would be able to have room enough in the small rubber boat.
Many people looking at me because I was a woman and I fled alone.

So I swiched off and started looking at the beautiful night. Beautiful stars. We walked around in a beautiful nature.

I don’t know why, but the boat trip was not scary to me. It was dark and the engine in the boat worked. I noticed that we approached land. We were worried that Greek police would catch us and send us back. I’ve heard that some refugees have tryed to flee 10 times. I know of someone who eventually chose to swim over, but was taken. This was my first try and I am grateful that I succeeded.

The trip was much easier when I arrived in Athens. I lived with a family that I had known before. I contacted a smuggler. It was easy to find French paper for me. I could speak different languages and my appearance helped a lot. I then took the flight, landed in a country and then I arrived at Copenhagen. Then I took the train to my mother in Malmö. She had already got there before me.

After five months, I got a residence permit. After three months, I began to learn Swedish. After five months, I got an internship and started working. I’m happy with my life in Sweden.

A Million Stories Sweden: Nizar Keblawi, Nina Olsson, Sara Sarabi, Malin Gillberg, Daniel Björklund, Mats Nordström.

A Million Stories Sweden volunteers: Fariborz Ghadir, Mohamad Mohsin, Yazan Saad, Tarek Aloudallah, Dalia Saleem, Yara Ali, Ahmad Younes, Chaimae Hamri.

In association with

I came to Denmark 2 years ago when I was 17. I am now going to start my education at UUC (professional high school).
I went to højskole ( Danish Folk High School) called Kalø last year. It was a wonderful school. I learned a lot of Danish there. It was a really good place. I also got to learn about Danish traditions and customs.
When I’m done with my professional high school, I would like to study computer engineering. Right now I a have a lovely boyfriend who is from Syria but lives in Funen in Denmark.
But, it’s still hard. My parents are both very ill. Both of them have diabetes and heart problems. The war in Syrian took its toll on them.