“I don’t want to die in sea. I don’t want to die alone. I would rather die with my family. If I had known all the dangers I would face, I wouldn’t have left Syria, even with the death threats,” says Zizit Abdel Algabbar.
Zizit Abdel Algabbar, is a Syrian doctor who fled Syria because she received death threats from the Islamic state, they accused her of helping the opposition because she treated the injured patients at her clinic.
A smuggler in Athens agrees to take Zizit and her daughter Maya to northern Europe. He gives Zizit a fake passport. But baby Maya will travel with him using his own daughter’s passport.
“I told him fine, what about me?” He says, “You’ll come after. We’ll fly on the same plane, [however] I don’t want her to see …show more content…
What shall I do?” We fled death in Syria. I almost let her die in the sea, and now I’ve lost her! She’s gone, Maya’s gone!”
The smuggler calls after five or six hours. I ask, “Where are you? Where’s Maya?!”, “Calm down,” he says. “Your daughter is fine.” He sends me a picture. She’s asleep. He’s a good Guy.
The smuggler asks for a contact, someone to leave Maya with in Germany. I remember an old friend living in Germany. She was a patient of mine in Syria. We became friends and kept in touch. “Please Hasna, my daughter is with a smuggler on the way. She needs to stay with you until I get to Germany.” This is the first time we’ve spent so much time …show more content…
When I get to passport control I’m strong. I’m determined to reach Maya in Germany even if I have to crawl there! I’m not afraid. I go through. In the waiting room I start reading a book. I don’t understand anything. I’m determined. I’m not going to get caught.”
Zizit makes it to Austria and takes a train north to Germany.
“I’m tired and fall asleep. Someone open the door of the carriage in the train. He asks for passports. I freeze. I don’t know if I’m in Vienna or Germany. I give him the fake passport.”
The policeman asks, “Are you Italian? Speak to me in Italian.” I’m scared and shaking. I say, “I don’t know any.” I ask him, “Sir where are you from?”, “We’re the German police.”, “Am I in Germany?”, “Yes,” he says. I cry, “I am from Syria, I’m not from Italy. Help me! My baby is here.” He says, “OK, don’t worry, you’re safe, you’re in Germany.”
“I arrive at night around midnight. I look at Maya. She’s changed a lot. I hold her and kiss her. She looks at me and starts crying. I hold her for three or four hours. She cries.”
Zizit was given refugee status. Maya has started kindergarden.
“I want to be a good person, work, pay taxes and my girl to learn. To become a doctor like me or anything she wants to
Zizit Abdel Algabbar, is a Syrian doctor who fled Syria because she received death threats from the Islamic state, they accused her of helping the opposition because she treated the injured patients at her clinic.
A smuggler in Athens agrees to take Zizit and her daughter Maya to northern Europe. He gives Zizit a fake passport. But baby Maya will travel with him using his own daughter’s passport.
“I told him fine, what about me?” He says, “You’ll come after. We’ll fly on the same plane, [however] I don’t want her to see …show more content…
What shall I do?” We fled death in Syria. I almost let her die in the sea, and now I’ve lost her! She’s gone, Maya’s gone!”
The smuggler calls after five or six hours. I ask, “Where are you? Where’s Maya?!”, “Calm down,” he says. “Your daughter is fine.” He sends me a picture. She’s asleep. He’s a good Guy.
The smuggler asks for a contact, someone to leave Maya with in Germany. I remember an old friend living in Germany. She was a patient of mine in Syria. We became friends and kept in touch. “Please Hasna, my daughter is with a smuggler on the way. She needs to stay with you until I get to Germany.” This is the first time we’ve spent so much time …show more content…
When I get to passport control I’m strong. I’m determined to reach Maya in Germany even if I have to crawl there! I’m not afraid. I go through. In the waiting room I start reading a book. I don’t understand anything. I’m determined. I’m not going to get caught.”
Zizit makes it to Austria and takes a train north to Germany.
“I’m tired and fall asleep. Someone open the door of the carriage in the train. He asks for passports. I freeze. I don’t know if I’m in Vienna or Germany. I give him the fake passport.”
The policeman asks, “Are you Italian? Speak to me in Italian.” I’m scared and shaking. I say, “I don’t know any.” I ask him, “Sir where are you from?”, “We’re the German police.”, “Am I in Germany?”, “Yes,” he says. I cry, “I am from Syria, I’m not from Italy. Help me! My baby is here.” He says, “OK, don’t worry, you’re safe, you’re in Germany.”
“I arrive at night around midnight. I look at Maya. She’s changed a lot. I hold her and kiss her. She looks at me and starts crying. I hold her for three or four hours. She cries.”
Zizit was given refugee status. Maya has started kindergarden.
“I want to be a good person, work, pay taxes and my girl to learn. To become a doctor like me or anything she wants to