by Mohammad Nour Alahmad Almasto, actor, Syrian refugee – hosted temporarily in SolidarityNow accommodation structure

This story was also published in K magazine of Kathimerini newspaper (1/1/2017)

“An intense cold dark night, the dawn of a bad day; I was leaving, regretful, waving goodbye to my city in Syria; escaping from the resentment and nastiness of my compatriots; escaping from the attacks of fanatics against free thought, against the freedom of expression and self-determination.

I was standing at the border with Turkey dreaming of a place where there is no injustice. A place where dignity is a respected and valuable human right; believing that at least there, people will be open to others who think and act differently than them and have a different attitude towards life.

When you have no more tears to cry and you cannot tolerate any more offences, you are forced to flee, crossing every border on the way, even when subjected to the threat of border guards’ weapons.

Once I managed to arrive in the first city in Turkey, I felt reborn. A fierce feeling of freedom overwhelmed me as I looked in awe at the beautiful buildings in the streets and walked alone without knowing anyone. The dream did not last long. It ended when I saw people who worship money, people who don’t know the meaning of compassion, of pity and don’t recognize any labor rights. I was surprised by the discovery that many people did not even know the meaning of the word freedom; I struggled ten months for my survival and freedom of thought in Turkey, fooling myself by “wearing a mask” that didn’t represent me.

Then came the day that I could no longer stand my everyday reality. That day, I picked up my belongings and decided to travel to Greece, which in my mind represented the source of civilization, hoping to find myself in the arms of philosophers and scientists and to immerse myself in the universe of ancient theater. I dreamed to be closer to the light- for a change.

And now I am here, in Greece, the land of free thought, religious tolerance, and sexual freedom. Expecting the new year to dance cheerful … I will dance with joy because I left behind the attacks of fanatics or maybe because I regained my mental balance far away from people’s intolerance or because I was saved from the anger of the Aegean Sea!?
No, not for the above. I will dance with joy hoping for a new year that will make me leave the past behind and look to the future with a renewed point of view!”