MEET HAMID

The lack of proper accommodation remains an obstacle for many Syrians who are considering moving back to where they lived before the beginning of the war. In the past 5 years and in collaboration with FMEEC, we have supported the rehabilitation of 278 homes in Syria, enabling families affected by the war to stay in or to return to their homes and communities. This is the story of one of these families.

Before the war broke out, life was nice and easy. My mother and I used to live in our house, and I had a job and a regular income. Suddenly, we lost it all. All our possessions, our house, our memories. We were forced to flee with nothing more than the clothes we were wearing as a result of the intensified fighting, as our neighborhood became a hotspot in the war.

We have been living as internally displaced people since 2012. I had to adapt, I didn’t have a choice, but my mother stayed in denial for a long time and never accepted our new reality. Our house meant so much to her.

We are six family members, my wife and her two children (ages 9 and 8) from her previous husband, who died during the war, and my mother and my mother-in-law, who are also both widows. After my wife’s first husband died, she was left with no resources whatsoever, in a war-torn country, supporting her two young children and her elderly mother. We met later on and I quickly proposed, as I wanted to support her and her children and so we could start a new life together.

The house we live in is very small for all six of us. Our biggest concern is the high cost of living, especially rent, which has been increasing through the current crisis. Now, our landlord wants a rent that is twice the price we first agreed on. He is threatening to evict us if we don’t pay. More generally, everything has become very expensive. I am an employee at the post office and my income is limited. My wife doesn’t work. We struggle to afford everything we need, like clothing, books for school, house supplies. If education wasn’t for free, we would not have been able to enroll the kids in school. Moreover, my mother and my mother-in-law are getting old and need medication.

A while ago, other organizations and some nice neighbors helped us do some repairs in our old house but it was not nearly enough. The house was not habitable. We felt really desperate and lost, until we met you and heard about the shelter rehabilitation project.

When you called us to tell us we had been selected for the project, it felt like the biggest celebration. We instantly felt hope living in our hearts again and started to feel safer. We have knocked on many doors before but no one has ever answered our cry for help like you did. My wife goes home every day to see how the rehabilitation is going. The team asks about her opinion on everything they do, and she gets to pick the colors and make decisions when it comes to details or finish. We feel like we are renovating our house ourselves.

The repairs are almost over and we plan to move back any time now! My mother and I can’t wait to finally live in our house again, with all the memories it carries, and to start making new memories.

Our children are so excited, because the house has a backyard where they are able to play. I am convinced the future of my children will be better, as they live a more stable life in a house that we own. This will help them feel safer and be more successful in school.

We hope for economic stability in Syria, so we can finally be done with this never-ending crisis, and so we can secure a good future for our children. I want to see them graduate from university with the highest possible degrees. And just as we have been helped, we hope one day we are able to help many in return.

We are thankful beyond words to everyone who made this project possible and we thank God for sending people like you to stand by us. We are all brothers and sisters in Him.

Thank you a million times!