00:00Geis Dayob fled the war in Syria with his family in 2014 and found a new home in Magdeburg.
00:07Germany gave me everything. In Syria before, it was bad. I didn't have much. I couldn't do much.
00:14So from our perspective, Germany is our home. It's our second home, you could say.
00:25After starting work at a distribution center, he opened the Dr. Otto DIY workshop in 2019.
00:32Back then, he was working on his own. Today, he's an employer.
00:39I have one person working for me, so I can just order the parts or make an appointment.
00:45And my employee can just get on with things.
00:48We also opened a car dealership. I have an employee there, too.
00:56So we feel like things are always moving forward.
01:02Back in 2020, many things were still new to the parents, but their children already felt at home in Magdeburg.
01:10Rosa was born in Germany. The children only know Syria from their parents' stories.
01:16Madi Dayob was only three when he left Syria.
01:20I have a few friends who speak Arabic, but I mostly speak German at school.
01:28Now a teenager, he prefers to spend his time after school in the workshop. Cars are his great passion.
01:35After graduating from high school, he wants to study electrical engineering and then take over the workshop.
01:43The dream is actually to expand the workshop and make my father proud of me.
01:48It's his dream and my dream that I take over the workshop.
01:54Going back to Syria is out of the question for the family.
01:58Assad is gone. That's very good. But for us, Magdeburg is home.
02:06Two of my children were born here. I know a lot of Germans.
02:10We want to stay here. We don't want to go back to Syria.
02:16Gays Dayob wants his children to get to know his hometown in Syria.
02:20He's looking forward to vacation there and a reunion with his family.
02:25With the car repair shop and used car dealership, he's made a dream come true and ensured financial security for his family.
02:33Now he only wants one thing above all else.
02:37Getting German citizenship is very important for us, of course.
02:42I don't know why it's not happened yet. We're still waiting.
02:48The family's application was rejected this year.
02:52But they want to apply for German passports again next year.
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