“I have the most beautiful woman; I know it“, says Rimon.
Ariz blushes and looks down. “He loves me“, she says.
And so it seems; Rimon and Ariz from Syria – parents of two children, the 7-year-old Lana and the 3-year-old Elias.
Their family is hosted in one for the six solidarity homes, in the context of the “Solidarity Homes” program, implemented by SolidarityNow in collaboration and with the support of the organization Help Refugees.
They live in Athens; they have gained back a normal daily life. As we were talking, Ariz cooked the family lunch, then she would read Greek and later she would take Lana from school. Before their night dreams, Lana and Elias will listen to mom’s stories; Ariz will do the same as she did in Syria; telling bed time stories either that she comes up with or some she knows from her mother. Any questions about the stories are answered in the morning!
Most of the neighbors think that Rimon and Ariz are from Greece and they talk to them in Greek. Ariz and Rimon smile politely at them because they are now learning the language by attending lessons provided in the context of the “Solidarity Homes” program. More specifically, the members of the six families hosted in the solidarity homes attend Greek and English courses at the organization’s Blue Dots Center and at the premises of the new SolidarityNow education and training center, in Athens. The same applies to little Lana, who attends Greek public school.
Ariz, at her 37 and Rimon at his 42, are a modern couple – they want to build a new life in Europe without memories from the past. They don’t want to talk about the past and the painful trip of their displacement. They lay all their hopes for a better future on themselves and their efforts to integrate into a European society and be able to work again. In Syria, both worked as nurses. Rimon and Ariz worked in the same city where they met and fell in love.
Ariz’s dream is her children “to become citizens of the world. Not to get through so tough times. In our 40 years, we were displaced. I want my children to live where there is safety“.
*Mate, originally an Argentinian drink, is very popular in Syria. The drink, which contains mateine (an analog of caffeine), is made by an infusion of dried leaves of yerba mate.
**Rimon, Ariz, Lana and Elias are now in Germany, hosted in a refugee camp and they are about to begin a new life. We wish them all the best!
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.