“In Syria, we were in dark, we reached the light in Turkey.”

Just like many other refugee families living in Turkey, El Ahmed family has migrated from Syria to Kilis due to the outbreak of war and afterwards located in Ankara. The family who began their new life, in house of single room in Kilis; faced economic, cultural and social problems. El Ahmed family with seven children now resides in Ankara, has completed the social cohesion processes and became a part of Turkish life style by the contributions of Kızılaykart programmes… Samir, the father of the household with his children welcomed us and invites us in. With cheerful and curious eyes, the children who sat in alignment on the couch watched us.

Samir, an agricultural engineer, speaks of his chicken farm and greenhouse with longing before the outbreak of war. Back the days in Syria the family had a life with good standards. The family has seven children. The ages of children vary between the age of 8 and 21. Children can understand Turkish well but they have some difficulty in speaking. When we asked them for their favorite lessons; Ali said he loved English, while Nur loved Turkish and Sidre loved math. Since his school ends later than his siblings, Rami join us later. 80-year-old grandmother Hatice, with her tired yet merciful eyes is looking at her children who are sitting besides her with love.

Father Samir, tells about the story of how they migrated to Turkey. When the Syrian Crisis first emerged, the family has resisted to move away from their hometown, nevertheless when the bombardments started in their town they had no other choice left but to move out. They gathered their belongings and moved to a different town. However, after moving out the family tried to survive in the relatively safer areas of Syria. Father Samir, is talking about those days with trembling voice, “We were escaping from the bombardment and moving to different places but we were forced to move after a while, anyway.” The responsibility of seven children, his wife and grandmother Hatice's was too much for Samir and as a last resort he decided to migrate to Turkey in 2013.

The family first settled in Kilis, Turkey, in a boxy room as they rented for 50 TL; a household that consists of nine people. As they continued to live in this room, they eventually moved to Ankara by the support of their relative who has reached them.

For a few weeks, El Ahmed family settled in their relative’s house but they did not want to become a burden to their relatives and rented a house for themselves. “Thanks to all our neighbors, they did their best to help and support us. As soon as they heard that we were moving to their district, some of them donated us a couch, while others donated carpet and cushions…” says Samir El Ahmed. The family has made off their lives through construction and gardening jobs for a while.

““During the early days we came to Ankara, our children were scared when they saw an airplane. They thought that the planes would be bombing the place we live.””

Mrs. Fazilet states, “During the early days we came to Ankara, my children were scaring when they saw an airplane. They thought that the planes would be bombing the place we live.” as her eyes filled up.

Father Samir wants his children to be educated. The beneficiary family of the Conditional Cash Transfer for Education Program, is pleased with the opportunities offered to them. He stated that, CCTE Program supports the family to send their children to school. Initially, they were able to pay their bills first and then they covered the school needs of the children. The school expenses for children are various; stationery, clothes, carfare… Since Rami goes to school by bus, his school expenses is the highest among his other siblings. Samir says that, “Everyday I give 5 TL for the bus transportation to Rami. Although there are days, he uses bus as his means of transportation, there are days when he prefers to walk and save the 5 TL as his pocket money.” All that Samir wants for his children is to receive education and attend to the trainings they love, according to their skills. Samir asked us “If there were any other courses like this in other schools?” We recommended Türk Kızılay Community Centers, as we opened the Arabic web site of Community Centers via our mobile phone.

Especially the 80-year-old grandmother Hatice, along with the mother, and father, miss their country terribly. However, Samir as he looks to his children and articulates that, the future is of Syria is infact darker than today.

Samir El Ahmed and his spouse welcomed us and told us their life story. As Kızılaykart Bulletin team, we are moving from one human story to another, with the hope to improve and enhance the empathy between migrant people and host community.