The Story of a Syrian Refugee in Berlin

Meet B, the first person to be interviewed for the Berlin Refugees project.

Life in Syria

B, age 32, is from a small city in eastern Syria called Al-Bukamal, close to the Iraqi border.

At 18, he moved to Aleppo to begin his studies, later finishing with a degree in computer engineering.

If B had a choice, he would’ve began working immediately as a web developer, but shortly after finishing university, he had to begin a mandatory stint in Syria’s military. The typical military program at the time, called for six months of basic training, followed by a year and half of service.

B describes his time with the military as the worst time of his life. Keeping long hours from 5 a.m. until 11 p.m., there was intense physical training, classes, and few breaks. There wasn’t an aspect of his life that wasn’t controlled. For the first two months, he wasn’t even permitted to leave camp.

After his training wrapped up in November 2010, he graduated as an officer and was sent to a military base in the “middle of no where”, handling air defense systems that dated back to the 1950s. Far beneath his level of expertise, he had no choice but to do the job until his time with the military was complete.

However, his tenure with the Syrian military did not come to an end as expected, when civil war broke out in the country in 2011. He was forced to stay and continue his work at the base, not knowing if he’d ever be called to fight for the regime and when (or if) his time with the service would finish.

Defecting from the Syrian Army

Finally, B couldn’t handle it anymore. While on a short holiday in Damascus during August 2012, he decided to defect from the army and make his way back to his hometown, which had yet to fall under regime control.

This drastic decision meant that B could never travel to a part of Syria that was controlled by the regime. If he was caught, he’d be imprisoned for his desertion, or worse.

Even the journey home was dangerous, full of government checkpoints. Fortunately, he made it safely and joined his family in Al-Bukamal.

While watching regime fighters bomb his city, B went on as best as he could and set up his own computer hardware business to make a living.

B hoped that the war would end and he could return to his normal life. His dream was to live in Aleppo, working in his chosen profession, and maybe even launching his own technology startup.

Fleeing to Turkey

When it became clear that the war wouldn’t end anytime soon and the regime lost control of bases around his city, B left Syria alone and headed to Istanbul, Turkey in December 2013. He didn’t feel his leaving was a choice, as had he stayed, he would’ve had to continue life under the authority of radicals and he didn’t prefer to live this way. His family remains in Al-Bukamal today.

While in Istanbul, B was able to build a better life for himself. He flourished in his career and began working as a web developer full-time, first working at a web agency and then later starting his own business. He made many friends, enjoyed the culture and nightlife of city, and explored as much of Istanbul as possible.

As much as Syrians have been welcomed into Turkey, Syrians aren’t granted any sort of official status. So while they have a sort of permission to stay, there is no possibility of signing any legal contracts with Turkish companies or being able to have rights similar to that of Turkish citizens or other types of foreigners with permanent resident status. They can work but only on a casual, off-the-record basis. Syrians are forced to live with uncertainty as to what their future holds and with fear the Turkish government could change their position and force them to leave at any moment.

Deciding to Come to Germany

When B’s friend from university came to visit him in Istanbul, his friend questioned him, “Why are you staying here, B? There is no future here. You don’t have permission to stay. You don’t have rights …”

B’s friend urged him to leave and start anew with him in Germany. In September 2015, they decided to make their way to Europe, joining the approximately 1,000,000 others who made the similarly dangerous journey to reach Germany in 2015.

The first thing they needed to do was find a smuggler, someone who would transport them via boat from Turkey to Greece.

The advertising medium of choice for smugglers these days is Facebook. The smugglers advertise their human trafficking services in various groups and even have their own fan pages.

The Journey Across the Aegean Sea

B and his friend found a smuggler and were able to speak with others who vouched for his “legitimacy.” For $1050 US, they were each able to purchase a spot on a boat that would carry them across Aegean sea to the Greek island of Lesbos.

Included in the fee was transport from Istanbul via bus to an undisclosed location. Arriving at their departure point, the two friends joined thousands of others on the beach and eventually boarded a jam packed flimsy rubber boat with 35 other people and all of their belongings.

Others told B and his friend that they were lucky; sometimes the boats were filled with 50 or more people. These sea journeys are known to be especially treacherous and over 3,700 people perished in 2015 making similar trips.

Even though the group only travelled less than 10 kilometers to reach Greece, the journey took them well over two hours. The sky was bright blue, dotted with clouds. It was windy and the waves were choppy. As the group made their way across the sea, the boat slowly started to fill with more and more water.

B described the the mood of the people onboard as quiet. There were other men, women, and even entire families with children on the boat. He was filled with fear that the boat would sink and they would all drown.

B said “I was thinking about my life. That I didn’t deserve to come to Europe in this way. I thought how I did everything in my life in a good manner and questioned why was life forcing me to come in this way? Isn’t there another way?”

Upon arrival in Lesbos, the boat was filled with so much water that when the last person stepped off, it sunk completely.

Shortly afterwards, the weary and relieved friends registered their presence with local authorities and made their way to Athens via ferry.

While the brief boat ride to Greece was $1050 US, a ticket to Athens for a journey which would last 12 hours, only cost them a mere €60 each.

Once in Athens, B and his friend checked into a hotel to heal their wounds. Their feet were bloody from the boat ride. They bought some medicine, treated their wounded feet, and slept in preparation for the long journey ahead.

I’ll be writing more about B in the coming days, detailing his journey across Europe and what life has been like as a Syrian refugee in Berlin.

A special thanks to B for sharing his story with me.