Young refugee family secure German future after fleeing Syrian conflict
- 7 years ago
We’re in Germany’s rust belt (the Ruhrgebiet) where the now-closed coal mines and steel works forged the region’s image as the country’s industrial heartland.
Today the area struggles with high unemployment, poverty and a huge migrant population.
It is home to a lot of Kurdish refugees from northern Syria, among them a family I met in 2015… in eastern Romania.
“Two years ago, a small wooden boat crossed the Black Sea. On board were 70 Syrian refugees, heading from Turkey to Romania.
“I first met Kawa, his wife Eli, and their baby daughter in a Romanian refugee camp.
“I’m going to see how their lives have changed. We’re going to meet up after two years. This time, in the German city of Gladbeck.”
But before seeing them again, let’s look back…
When Euronews first heard about an overloaded refugee boat on the Black Sea, we sent a team to find out if was set to become another migrant route.
Kawa and Emina fled their home-town of Kobane in 2014, when ISIL captured hundreds of Kurdish villages in northern Syria.
After finding temporary shelter on the Turkish side of the border, Emina gave birth to a girl: Huner. The couple decided to search for a different future – in Europe.
“I have seen war and killed mans (killed men) and people dying in front of my eyes,” Kawa Eli told Euronews. “I see them cut… their leg cut… this man you know him very well and he is dying… It is not easy to see your home is destroyed… just in moments… go in the air…”
Two years ago Kawa challenged me to a game of chess in the Romanian refugee camp. He was the better player… To give this Euronews reporter a second chance, we agreed to meet again for a re-match.
December 2016
One of those cold winter days in northern Germany. Kawa gives us a warm reception.
Gladbeck – Kawa Eli’s new hometown – is a city with a population of 77,000 people, including 1,200 refugees.
While preparing dinner, Emina tells us she is expecting a second child: another daughter.
Romanian authorities accused Kawa of people smuggling because he took his wife and newborn with him, crossing borders without permission.
While Kawa spent six months in Romanian custody, a truck driver took Emina and baby Huner through Hungary and Austria to Germany. Waiting in his prison cell for the trial, Kawa played chess… One day, an interpreter brought him news:
“He told me: your wife (is) in Germany and they are safe and do not worry!,” said Kawa. “And I forget my jail, my prison, really… (SMILES) I was very happy… that they are in Germany now…”
Finally the court in Romania ruled that Kawa was not a human trafficker. But for having entered the country without documentation, he had to pay the equivalent of about 1,300 euros.
After his release, Kawa travelled to Germany to join his family. When they were reunited, his daughter was older and had started to walk. Would little Huner recognize her dad, after the long separation?
“She was looking to me and (she said): Oh! She asked:
Today the area struggles with high unemployment, poverty and a huge migrant population.
It is home to a lot of Kurdish refugees from northern Syria, among them a family I met in 2015… in eastern Romania.
“Two years ago, a small wooden boat crossed the Black Sea. On board were 70 Syrian refugees, heading from Turkey to Romania.
“I first met Kawa, his wife Eli, and their baby daughter in a Romanian refugee camp.
“I’m going to see how their lives have changed. We’re going to meet up after two years. This time, in the German city of Gladbeck.”
But before seeing them again, let’s look back…
When Euronews first heard about an overloaded refugee boat on the Black Sea, we sent a team to find out if was set to become another migrant route.
Kawa and Emina fled their home-town of Kobane in 2014, when ISIL captured hundreds of Kurdish villages in northern Syria.
After finding temporary shelter on the Turkish side of the border, Emina gave birth to a girl: Huner. The couple decided to search for a different future – in Europe.
“I have seen war and killed mans (killed men) and people dying in front of my eyes,” Kawa Eli told Euronews. “I see them cut… their leg cut… this man you know him very well and he is dying… It is not easy to see your home is destroyed… just in moments… go in the air…”
Two years ago Kawa challenged me to a game of chess in the Romanian refugee camp. He was the better player… To give this Euronews reporter a second chance, we agreed to meet again for a re-match.
December 2016
One of those cold winter days in northern Germany. Kawa gives us a warm reception.
Gladbeck – Kawa Eli’s new hometown – is a city with a population of 77,000 people, including 1,200 refugees.
While preparing dinner, Emina tells us she is expecting a second child: another daughter.
Romanian authorities accused Kawa of people smuggling because he took his wife and newborn with him, crossing borders without permission.
While Kawa spent six months in Romanian custody, a truck driver took Emina and baby Huner through Hungary and Austria to Germany. Waiting in his prison cell for the trial, Kawa played chess… One day, an interpreter brought him news:
“He told me: your wife (is) in Germany and they are safe and do not worry!,” said Kawa. “And I forget my jail, my prison, really… (SMILES) I was very happy… that they are in Germany now…”
Finally the court in Romania ruled that Kawa was not a human trafficker. But for having entered the country without documentation, he had to pay the equivalent of about 1,300 euros.
After his release, Kawa travelled to Germany to join his family. When they were reunited, his daughter was older and had started to walk. Would little Huner recognize her dad, after the long separation?
“She was looking to me and (she said): Oh! She asked: