Column: Same Story… Different Endings

Column, 28 oktober 2024
Leestijd, 2 min.
Mohammad himself once fled Syria, and now regularly travels to the edges of Europe for Refugee Council. There he meets people like Omar, a Syrian father on Lesbos. His story shows the harsh reality of refugees at European borders.
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As I walk through the refugee camps on the borders of Europe, I am exposed to stories that resonate deeply in my heart. One such story is that of Omar in Greece: A Syrian father who fled his home in Aleppo, rebuilt his life in Türkiye, only to find himself back at square one after ten years, stuck in a tent in a camp on Lesbos. 

Omar and I have the same story, but with different endings. Both of us came from Syria and were forced to leave the country in 2014. We had to seek refuge: I in the Netherlands, he in Türkiye. After a decade, I became a Dutch citizen and found my way in this country. As for Omar, he had to flee again when he became a victim of xenophobia and discrimination in Türkiye and could no longer keep his family safe. 

People like Omar and his family face a harsh reality at Europe’s borders: pushbacks, border violence, hazardous journeys and unscrupulous smugglers. And in Greece, for example, recognised refugees are offered neither housing nor integration support. Reception centres are remote, overcrowded and lack basic facilities. Children wait months to go to school. People endure deplorable conditions: leaking roofs, inadequate food and little protection. And refugees are left to make impossible decisions about their futures. 

Impossible decisions

‘What should I do now?’ Omar asks me when I meet him as he is volunteering as a tailor and sewing clothes for other refugees. He is torn between waiting for his pregnant wife and children, who have been detained in Türkiye after trying to cross to Lesbos, or trying to move to another European country where he could actually start to rebuild his life.  

With no good answers to his questions, I feel lost. But I promise him that I will tell his story and the stories of people in situations like his. These stories are a cry to remind us that the lives and futures of many depend on our work and our shared humanity. 

Mohammad Kafina is a communication advisor to the Dutch Council for Refugees' International Programme. His work involves regularly visiting partner organisations and speaking to refugees on the borders of Europe.  

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