Fadia Maas

Life in Aleppo was good for my family, until the civil war broke out. My husband had a factory, so we had money, and I had made a beautiful home for our family. We had four children, two together and two from my previous marriage. The war destroyed everything. We lost the company and our money. My husband fled Syria to find a safe place for the family. We did not have sufficient funds to travel together. My two eldest children got killed in the war, and one day the house next door was hit by a bomb, which went on to destroy our house too. Shrapnel from a grenade embedded in my wrist, and following that I escaped with our youngest children of five and six. After a year in a refugee camp in Turkey, we were granted family reunification with my husband, who had got residence permit in Denmark and a place to live in Skagen.

During my now three years in Denmark, I have suffered from serious health problems. The traumas from the war have given me problems with my memory, my hand is still numb, and two slipped discs make everyday-life a painful hell. The painkillers have led to ulcers, but the medicine gets me through the day. I have been offered an operation, but I am afraid to say yes, because there is a risk that it could leave me paralyzed. As the situation is right now, at least I can walk. But I can’t cope with language school and job training. The children are the most important in my life, and their future lies here in Skagen. Aleppo is completely ruined, and I don’t think we will ever be able to return. The rest of my family is scattered across the globe.

39 / female / married / children / housewife / Skagen / from Syria / family reunification 2014