Firas counts his children and presents them one by one.

One, two, three, four daughters. The one more beautiful than the other!

“I am proud and lucky to have them”.

The 40-year-old Firas and his spouse arrived at Greece, having as their first stop the small island of Farmakonisi in Dodecanese. They have suffered a lot in their country. Firas was persecuted by the regime, lost his job, and his family faced threats. He had no other choice but to look for safety in another country. Thus, they all made the painful journey towards Europe.

Life in Syria was beautiful the old days, prior the war. Firas, as a civil engineer, was employed in the construction sector and managed to live with dignity in a safe environment. However today Firas and his family have found safety far away from their country in a country which they feel as if their own.

The four girls and their parents live in one of the six solidarity homes, in the context of the homonymous program which is implemented by SolidarityNow, with the support of the organization Help Refugees. They are happy for this progress in their lives. The four girls attend school and learn the Greek language. At the same time, their parents join the Greek language courses provided to all beneficiaries of the Solidarity Homes program -and not only.

Despite his health problems, Firas hopes that he will succeed finding a job after learning Greek. His aim is to gain back financial independence for his family.

Firas and his wife keep repeating that their four daughters are the ones supporting them emotionally. These wonderful girls who smile politely and embrace their parents throughout our conversation. The two older girls are also very good students. When the family was initially hosted in the organization’s structure in Peania, the two girls were the first to participate in the educational activities. They impressed everyone when they recited the poem ‘Eirini’ by Giannis Ritsos in fluent Greek!

“Peace is a glass of warm milk and a book in front of the child waking up”.

Help us support more Families to find a safe Home – A Solidarity Home. Click here: https://www.solidaritynow.org/solidarity-homes/ 

*Solidarity Homes is a program implemented by SolidarityNow in collaboration and with the support of the organization Help Refugees. Through the program, which was initiated in June 2017, accommodation is offered to the most vulnerable population groups – Greeks and refugees – on the sole criterion of their urgent need.