Mohammad Aleed was 27 during the Arab Spring of 2010. Soon after, war broke out in his hometown — Aleppo, Syria. At the time, Aleed had a well-paying job in a telecom company. The fate of the country — torn apart in the fights between President Assad’s forces and rebel groups — changed overnight, and so did Aleed’s.
Initially attracted towards rebellion, Aleed thought the conflict would result in change. Slowly the rebel forces backed by ISIL started plundering Aleppo. Killings and kidnapping of minor girls became a regular affair. That’s when Aleed chose to side with the regime. By then, he was engaged to marry Nairouz Mousa, a Kurd with a degree in economics. They married in 2012, even as the city burned. Around the time Nairouz became pregnant, the civil war had escalated. In December 2014, the couple’s first son was born. Nairouz was suffering from PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, hypertension, nervousness and nausea by this time. Day-long firings affected Aleed’s attendance at work. Sometimes the family would go without electricity and water for weeks. Even a community generator didn’t help, as there was a fuel shortage.
Around early winter, their second son, Ivan was born. Aleed had made up his mind to leave Syria, but it was easier said than done. With two infants, the biggest worry was to avoid human smugglers. They left one night with some baby food, clothes and whatever cash they could save. They went to the coast to board a boat to Greece. The Aegean Sea was quiet and they were fortunate to cross it with 200 other Syrians, mostly from Aleppo. The worst yet came after they were dumped at the Greek island of Lesvos. The Greek border police and immigration officers were ruthless with the refugees. They waited there for weeks until Aleed managed to negotiate his way to Portugal. The EU commission for refugees directed him there. An Islamic organisation which works closely with the EU refugee crisis organisation was contacted to take care of this family with infants. With whatever little money they had after paying the smugglers, Aleed and his family hitch-hiked till Lisbon. There they met Abdool Vakil, a philanthropist, who helped them out. They have been living in Lisbon for nearly a year now. The Portugal government has given them two years to learn the language and look for a job. If they pass a test, they would be granted temporary citizenship with a refugee status. But at 33 and 29, they find it tough to learn a new language. Their fixed stipend isn’t enough to sustain them either. Aleed is dealing with health issues such as scabies and hypertension. Nairouz still hears the gunshots and the yelling of women being kidnapped, and is constantly reminded of the horrors she left behind in Aleppo. Sometimes even the sound of a cracker shakes the family. Aleppo, the beautiful dream city of the past, is now in ruins, with its former residents living as refugees in foreign lands.