IamA 18yo Syrian who sought political asylum in Sweden AMA

Do people in Sweden really sound like Skwisgaar Skwigelf?

Yes.

I thank you for taking the time to do this, I have so many questions. If anything I ask is too difficult to talk about, I'll understand.

What was the final issue that pushed you to flee your home country?

Why Sweden? I know the Scandinavian countries are the best for protecting human rights, but there's a lot of countries between Syria and Sweden that seem to be an improvement over Syria. What made you decide you decide on Sweden?

How stable is your situation now? Is there any fear of deportation back to Syria by the Swedish government?

I have so many more questions to ask, but I'll let someone else ask a few questions now.

Again, thank you for your time, and thank you for being willing to talk about this.

No problem! There were a few things that pushed us to leave, where I used to live you couldn't stay unless you had a job and I lived there for a long long time without getting a permanent residence permit, and my dad started having trouble with his job ( boss problems + 60+ hour weeks) and a few other things.

Sweden in particular because I have A Swedish uncle ( he was there for well over 10 years) and he pushed my dad to come. A long with the standard of living, and my dad wanted a better future for us.

My situation in Sweden is very stable, were thankfully well off, my dad is planning to make a small startup there so that also kinda helps us

Does your "Swedish" uncle work?

My uncle studied in Stockholm and has been a doctor for well more than 5 years

Do you have any family members that are currently unemployed?

I have an uncle who is a agricultural engineer, he doesn't have a stable job but he often works with farms and stuff

Don't know if you saw my comment earlier before automod deleted it, but here:

Hi, No question; I just want to tell you that a lot of presumptuous and frankly very offensive questions have been posed towards you, and I applaud you for keeping your responses mature and serious. There's a lot of unnecessary hate out there. Don't let it get to you. I wish you the best.

Thank you ! I don't mind the offensiveness because if I reply to people saying offensive things in an equally offensive way id only be proving them right in their head, and my point here is try to share my point of view as a Syrian with people

Not very presumptous. Most Syrian immigrants to Sweden do not work. 51% unemployment for immigrants overall.

I was asked for my experiences and my family , I'm not some Wikipedia for the whole country

My response was to addtheletters, not towards you. I don't tink it's offensive to ask an immigrant about work when most immigrants don't work.

Ah it's cause I replied to it straight from the app so I didn't notice it was a reply

I'm thinking of leaving Syria soon, would you advice me to come to EU? I'm currently in Damascus but the army keeps calling me for service (إحتياط). I bribed them 2 times already and they still call me. I'm against taking part in the armed fight and I have a pregnant wife , and a 3yo kid.

I'm so scared atm, I have death threats for speaking out loud against someone in my town and work is so hard with the electricity/Internet and transportation status

my options are: Turkey or Germany / Lebanon or Jordan I have very limited cach and so afraid to commit to a dangerous trip to EU. any advice?

It all depends, do you have money , a degree or a connection ? And can't you pay like 10,000 dollars to not go?

No money, I've been paying expensive rent for ~3.5 years,lost my house and work is soooo slow, I studied CG art and animation at Arena Animation academy (AAASP) and currently working as a graphic/web designer, no connections (apart from some random friends)

But yeah I'd advice you to either try talking to the United Nations , do freelance work, and if you want to go to EU go wherever you can land. Try going there with a job offer it that's possible . I personally don't see and art student really succeeding in the Arab world.. So yeah

Why the EU? Why not go to other gulf states?

I've lived in the gulf states, I don't really have a future here , You can't get permanent residency here nor citizenship ... It's not the right place for anyone's future but citizens

Makes them sound more like economic refugees than ones fleeing from war. I now have less sympathy for them, especially those who drown, trying to reach the EU, did so for money, when they could have taken the safer path and stayed in the gulf.

It's not really for money, we made muuuch more money when we lived in the gulf states .. But money doesn't necessarily always make a good life

Also I wouldn't imagine someone who's house could be destroyed at any one point is worried about having enough money to buy an iPhone

Dude when you're looking to start over in a new country you will choose the best place to have a better futurr. The gulf states will never give out citizenships, or even prement residency, so yes they will go to the EU, because they can work and become citizens.

Kuwait for example is looking to deport 1 million people by 10 years , how can such country have the consideration to host refugees

Can you confirm that among refugees the destinations are always either Sweden or Germany? If so, why do you think that is?

The main destinations are definitely Germany and Sweden but there are people who seek any where in Europe they can get to. Some are in Austria turkey and Lebanon, however the ones in Lebanon returned to Syria because they were never used to living outside home and they faced a lot of racism in Lebanon

There are a few reason for that, it happens that some people used to have relatives(lived there for a long time) in those countries that push them to join them.

Many seek the high standards of life, many people have never left Syria and obviously don't like the way they're living. Germany or Sweden is like a Utopia to them , many people in syria never left so they'd imagine that the grass is much greener on that side of that makes sense due to things they've heard or seen..

Why was your dad wanted?

My dads duty as someone who lived outside Syria is to provide money to help my family and other people who are in desperate need in our family there and other desperate people in our town. A few people who are pro Assad reported him for "funding terrorism" which is a lie because my dad is against killing and the use of weapons and wants to exclusively help in a humanitarian way

Are you ever planning on going back to your homeland?

I love going around the world so I'd go wherever the flow takes me, but my dream is to be the Syrian president so yes

What do you think about all the people who flood into these countries that are not actually Syrians and are not fleeing from a war?

Do you think many Syrians come to Sweden for the welfare, not wanting to work?

What is yours and your Syrian friends attitude towards the Swedish women, the way they dress, they drink, are equal in all and will never be property of any man?

Do you want Sweden to eventually become islamic?

What are your plans for the future?

Where in Sweden are you?

How long have you been here?

Would you return to Syria if the war ended and there were peace?

Would you ever vote for an islamic party, like the muslim brotherhood if it came to Sweden?

-I personally think it's pathetic that non -syrians are riding on the hardship of other people for their benefit. -From my experiences and from the people I know, people's main objectives are being safe, live a better life etc, and everyone I personally know want's to get a job and has no interest on riding on the welfare because many many of the people i am sure they'd return to Syria if it was safe (mainly older people), but I can't deny the possibility of someone trying to ride on the welfare system. -They don't care, or even if they did, they mind their own business, the people i know just mind their own business and don't seek to apply their own laws on anyone. -I am not very religious and I believe in the separation of church and state.. basically no way. -I am personally very ambitious, I want to either start my own business and help create jobs for people, and in the far future I'd hope to go back to Syria and run for president if things turn to the better. -I live in a city about an hour away from uppsala -I have lived for a few months, but I just recently left my family there to study outside. -I would, because I see potential in Syria becoming a great country, but that requires a lot of work and time. -I would not want a muslim party to exist in the first place.

Would you say that a lot of people your age share your views?

There are some that do some that don't, I'm definitely not as religious as many people in Syria for example but even the ones that are, only mind their own business.. But generally they have similar opinions

Nice to have you here - welcome to Sweden! My question is about racism, because of Sverigedemokraterna. Do you meet a lot of racism on a normal day? Why do people still want to go here, when Sweden now gets more "famous" for parties like Sverigedemokraterna and people who thinks and acts like them?

Thank you ! I personally haven't faced any racism, everyone is friendly with me, even government people at skattverket etc but id guess it's partly because I'm educated and fluent in English, everyone is friendly with the rest of my family though my mum had one slightly racist incident but nothing in a way that harmed or hurt her. Tbh we more racism in other Arab countries

Thanks for doing the AMA! There is a big debate in the nordic countries to figure out how to help refugees in the best possible way, so I'm wondering if you could increase our perspective in the matter.

1. What is your family's mindset now focused on when you have arrived in Sweden? Like, any concerns or needs?
2. Do you feel that the population is generally welcoming of your family and peers?
3. If you could be the foreign minister of Sweden for a day and make 1 change to improve things such as getting jobs, education, family-reunion and so forth, which change would help your family the most?
4. Is there anything you would wish every european knew, that would help every refugee?

Again, thanks for opening this dialogue. I hope you and your loved ones find peace and refuge among many great things in Sweden and good luck on your ambition to become president!

So far there aren't major concerns my family just wants me and my siblings to be healthy and excel in our education because my dad wants us to go back later and build Syria with our knowledge. The population is extremely welcoming to me ,it seems like the Internet is more hating towards the refugees but there the people are so friendly. To get in Sweden I actually had to have a interview at an embassy before being allowed in, I feel like they should work on interviewing people more in turkey or something to make sure safe people pass by and not radicals, also to eliminate trafficking. I'd try to encourage people to work using either whatever skill they have of for labour and encourage them to start their business perhaps. Sweden has a great integration program so I'd focus more on that .. I need more time to think so I'll say more stuff later. Maybe this is just my personal opinion but I would want Europeans to just understand that a lot of people who are just ignorant to a lot of things and don't know better , they just want a better life , they'd love to stay in Syria if they were safe but it's just not an option, a lot of Syrian people have a lot of pride and love to work and I'm sure if given the chance there are many that will prove that.

How do you think Syrian criminals, that give peaceful people like you a bad name, should be handled? Send them back to Syria or get arrested in the country they seeked asylum at? I was thinking about refugees that were throwing stones at Lesbos, stealing etc

I think it depends on the weight of the crime, for anything that physically hurts anyone I think they should be deported back to Syria because It would be hypocritical to hurt anyone if the whole reason you've been there is because you were treated badly in your country. I am not very knowledgeable about this but I know some people seek refuge through the UN. If we give more attention to that, and create a thorough screening process that prioritizes people with children and people with degrees and skills that would be based in turkey. We would be eliminating the trafficking problem and stand a better chance at ensuring more civilized people entering the country.

Why prioritize people with degrees; countries are meant to be sheltering refugees, not gaining economic migrants - surely education is irrelevant?

That's my point of you , if you can't bring everyone then you should have a certain way of distribution .. If I was the Swedish government id want to make use of intellectual people.. That's my point of view again

Do you think after the war is over, that Syrian refugees who have been afforded asylum in European nations should return?

Yes I do think they should return but not immediately after the war is done , I believe that people should seek refuge because of the lack of safety and that means they should come back if its safe

How are you handling the change of culture now that you reside in Sweden? I don't want to be presumptuous about Syrian society, but I can imagine there are particular aspects to it which is radically different to what you grew up with. For example, you grew up in a country which criminalised homosexuality with up to three years in prison, and you're now in a country which has openly LGBT citizens who can enter into a marriage. I suspect there's a variety of other drastic cultural differences you've also had to assimilate with? How have you managed that?

What is the general opinion (if there is one) of the United Kingdom amongst political asylum seekers? The media narrative here is that the UK is considered high-up on their 'target' list because of welfare etc etc, and our own Prime Minister has described refugees as a "swarm". I'm deeply skeptical about such a morally insidious media narrative, but that's a different discussion altogether. I'm curious whether it is well known amongst refugees how hostile the UK is?

I've been personally been raised a bit different to other Syrians , I've been around all sorts of people throughout my life, so I don't really care about the culture differences I'm fine with everyone as long as they don't hurt me.

I personally wouldn't want to go to the UK, nor do I know anyone personally that would want to go there, in my eyes there isn't anything that the UK offers more than say Germany and the UK.. But that's just personally. Mainly for the reason that I don't like the British government.. This is my personal view .. I don't enforce it on anyone..

I understand you had an uncle in Sweden and so you have a reason for going there, but:

What do you think of the refugees that cross many safe countries just to get to Germany/Sweden? Do you think they should stay in the first safe country they're able to enter?

Also, do you plan on returning to Syria if the situation greatly improves?

I think refugees should be spread out equally of relatively depending on the countries capacity. However you see people go to Germany and Sweden because they imagine it to be utopia and they've heard many good things about it, maybe this isn't the best example but if you were to seek refuge somewhere in Africa.. I wouldn't imagine someone going to Niger over like Egypt or Kenya or a more developed African country .. Because the person just doesn't really know the other countries

So if economic migrants want to go to Sweden and Germany because they feel entitled to the welfare benefits there, why should they be let in? They're not really refugees if they're safe from harm in Turkey, Serbia, Hungary, ETC.

Nobody feels entitled for welfare , Sweden and Germany seem amazing to them quality of life wise etc. I am sure there are people in them already. People don't like to stay in turkey because the situation is not good for them it is too expensive and because of racism , people have their pride you know .. We're supporting some family financially there and if not for us they'd be begging in the streets , nobody likes that . Also it's kind of hard to make a correct generalization that accurately fits 100s of thousands of people. All I can accurately say is I and my family went due to my uncle. I have family in Austria and Netherlands because it was the first place they could land in

For your second question, yes I probably would but I would hope to gain citizenship so that I'd have an option to go back to if Syria was still not safe to return to

I've seen a lot of photo's and video's of people throwing away water and food being given to them.

How do you feel when you see scene's like this? Was there another side to this story?

Hey I'm sorry for not replying to this I've been a bit sick and I be been overwhelmed with questions .. I take my time so that I can make sure I answer in a lot of detail to give as much detail as possible meanwhile would you mind providing links of what you've seen

Was there much of a culture shock switching countries?

To me personally no because as I grew up I met many people from many different parts of the word and so I became open minded and aware of other cultures

Marhaba!! Fellow Syrian here :) Well I was born and raised in the US but my parents immigrated from Syria after they got married. So I call myself Syrian-American. I know someone who knows how your dad feels. My uncle was a businessman in Syria who worked closely with the government, but they betrayed him, destroyed his business, and took him to jail for a few years with the claim that he betrayed them... He moved to Lebanon with his family after being released so he's good now. I wish you the best as well :) That being said, here's my question: What part of Syria are you/your family from?

Hey man thanks! Where in America are you ? And something similar happened to my dads friends business , he had one and and rami makhlouf wanted to partner up but he refused and then rami shut it down.. Anyways I'm from idlib

I live in Florida. I've heard that name in family discussions....we might actually be talking about the same guy lol And I've heard of Idlib. I just looked at a map and it's not far from Lattakia, where part of my family is from.

Just to make sure, my dads friend isn't rami makhlouf that guy is part of the regime , and I don't think we're talking about the same person otherwise because he didn't go to jail

Yeah I meant the guy whose business got shut down by rami makhlouf. And oh ok, just wanted to know if we were thinking of the same person. It seems a lot of people got their businesses shut down by the regime then?

His business is up and running now and starts with an O , are we talking about the same person ?

I don't think so haha Good to know he's back on track though :)

He had to leave to keep it running outside, though in return they destroyed his house and jailed his family , we're all victims of what's happening ..

Was there a part of you that wanted to stay and fight for your country? No offense to you I ask out of pure curiousity,but I've k own many men who joined their armies at age 18 and fought for their countries. Is there a certain group or faction you side with more than others in the ongoing conflict? If so why?

Thanks for taking the time

I personally don't really like fighting or anything, I believe that knowledge and education is more powerful than weapons, I personally to not like to side with anyone specifically because there's no perfect group , but if anything id say FSA.. Basically just not ISIS

To the extent that radical Islamic fundamentalism is a factor in so many refugees fleeing the middle east, why do so many refugees want to bring the same problem(s) with them?

If a group of people wants to run away from overwhelming problems surrounding them, wouldn't it make sense to leave those problems behind instead of bringing them to the new place?

The reason why many people bring their Islamic views etc with them because when they were in the situation they were in, Islamic groups rose to power and they were the ones protecting them so they were very brainwashed by them. Though I believe that with a lot of people if they were allowed to practice their religion under a few rules such as no hate speech in mosques and what not a long with education and good treatment , people will mind themselves .. In Sweden many people speak so well of government things like the arbetsformedligen which is the job office that created an integration program.. That helps

If Sweden gets into a war, would you sign up to fight for our country?

I'd rather not because I also wouldn't want to go to war for Syria. But for anyone that would go to war for Syria they should go to war for Sweden. I wouldn't mind working in intelligence or something like that .. But I'm not a combat person

So, if you were pressed into service; would you then abandon Sweden as well?

If I was pressed into doing it I guess I would

How did you get to sweden?

Long story short I got a schengen visa and it landed me there.

You seem to be just the coolest dude. If you're ever in Kista, I'l buy you a beer!

As for my question, seeing as how you seem really into reading and learning, have you been reading any Swedish literature? If so, what do you think of it?

Jag talar liten svenska, I didn't really get to learn much because I left Sweden a bit because I got a scholarship to study abroad but I'm working hard on learning it. However I sometimes go to hagsätra to visit my uncle so I would be more happy to meet you :) perhaps in that medieval pub in gamla Stan

How much time you will be in Sweden? Do you think that in the next years Syria will be a safer place? I heard that refugees in Uruguay wants to go back to syria because they don't see future in that country. What do you think about that? (sorry for my english, i'm Argentine)

I honestly have no idea have no idea how long , I'd go wherever I get a job but I also would like to be there enough to learn the language and get citizenship .. Also I had no idea there were refugees at the Uruguay

I also would like to be there enough to learn the language and get citizenship .

This means all his life.

Eeeh it means 4 years only

Hey there, thankyou for doing this. I understand this must be hard for you. My question is, have you had any contact with your family who were shipped to germany? Also, when did you go to Sweden? Thankyou.

I only have an uncles family in Sweden and he's doing good, he has a degree in medicine so he's trying to do the exams necessary for him to work and stuff, I moved to Sweden a couple of months ago

Are you planning on going back if everything is safe in your homecountry and there is no necessity to stay?

I want to go back to Syria but I also would want to go anywhere in the world where I get a job

I've read that the conditions in some refugee camps, such as the Jungle at Calais, are horrendous, and that UN camps have had to cut rations due to funding issues. Do you have any insight on this?

I haven't personally been to a camp so I can't give you the best answer about it but from what I know the conditions aren't the best in a lot of them

When Britain was at threat, the women would hand white flowers to the men that did not choose to fight for their country to mark them as cowards. Does anything similar happen in Syria, do your countrymen look down upon you for choosing to flee instead of defending your country?

If you wanted to stay and fight, do you believe your country had the resources to support you? Or put another way, was serving in the armed forces an option?

Well as far as I know there isn't anything symbolic like In Syria , but other than the refugees and stuff there are plenty of people who are pressured into fighting or fight out of their morals to do so.. I wouldn't fight because I'm a pacifist

Are you religious?

I've kinda answered this before but no I'm not

What was the most challenging thing you had to face when immigrating to a nearby country and seeking political asylum?

I'm sorry I didn't make this too clear but I already had lived in a nearby country but we were forced to leave it and my dad was wanted so we couldn't go back to Syria since my dad was wanted. The problem was the process was a bit lengthy because we had to prove that my dad was wanted and prove where we used to live , the Swedish authority's determined that the country I was in was not safe for Political Asylums which is why they allowed us in

Hi! Thank you for giving us a little of your time by sharing your story! The huge flow of refugees from war, and the poor management of the situation by some european and gulf countries is depressing; but also a lot of attention is on the conflict, helping too bring more aid, awareness and solidarity, and also forcing politicians to react quicky in a more clever way (or I least I personnally hope so) under the eyes of the whole world.

So my question is: Despite this terrible situation your people are going through, are you optimistic and about the future? And more importantly do you see the same optimism / lack of optimism in your family and friends who went through the same (or worse) experience?

I don't think the near future is too good however I see a better long run. I am thank fully more well off than most Syrians and I am educated so i feel that it's the duty of people like me to create jobs and educate less fortunate people to build Syria in the future and guide people

What do you think of swedish feminism, swedish equality and swedish secularism? Are we very different from Syria and syrians on this or are we much the same?

I don't like the 3rd wave Feminism as a movements places like America. But I like the secularism and equality because I believe in both of them, I like the system Sweden has established and I think it's miles ahead when it comes to human rights . But mind you that I was raised in a more open minded and educated background.. That's my view though

How's your dabke?

I love watching it and trying but I'm so shit at it.. The music is cool though

How is sweden?

If you want free karma you should post this at /r/sweden/

Sweden is awesome, and perhaps later

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First of all I must say that, at least in my experience. Swedish people are very very nice people and very helpful and caring and I love their ethics and many other things. When it comes to saying negative things about Sweden I don't have much right to complain because the safety they provide me is more than enough to not complain. However if there's anything I don't like , Sweden can be way too quiet of a place for my taste at least and people can be a bit not social, it has very different weather and stuff To what I'm used to .. Darkness for the majority of the day or sunlight the whole day almost.. Too much rain sometimes and yeah. But I can accommodate to those things .. Sweden is great

Will Syrians mind if millions of Africans move to Syria and cause permanent changes to the culture of Syria?

I think Syrians have already proven that they wouldn't mind people coming in, Syria had many Armenians coming into Syria and Circassians. Syria is a very multicultural place and I love that about it.

Syria is a very multicultural place and I love that about it.

Then stay there.

What part of the country is not safe to live in does not go through your head ?

Well, you want to be a president, then the first step you could take, could be you bringing in thousands, if not millions, of sudanese or somalian tribesmen who would help you fight and win against ISIS. After that invite them to stay, and vuolia - Syria is even much bigger multi-cultural heaven. Do this, instead of infesting Europe.

You're too full of racism for me to be bothered and discuss my point with you.

You're too full of racism

Oh, you learned how to use "I can get away with anything because - RACIIIIIISM" card pretty fast. Did they teach you that when you cross Swedish border, or did you learn it at home in Syria?

I'm not playing the racist card , but when you're berating me with pointless racist remarks, what am I going to discuss with you ?

Why don't you stay and put your energy into making Syria a better place? Also, why do we see mostly young men traveling as refugees with few women and children? Is it because women are thought as second class citizens and aren't as important as the men?

The situation in Syria is too bad for me to be able to make a change , and being 18 the best I can do is gain knowledge , I worked hard and got a scholarship etc anyways men go a lone because the trip is very very demanding from what I know.. I haven't done this but I know people who had to stay in trucks without food and water for 14 hours , women and children can't take that so what the men do is go and then get them by re unification

So staying in Syria is less bad than a 14 hour truck ride?

No, I don't think you get the point , they would join whoever is going by family reunification without having to take the bad trip

But the whole premise of fleeing is that you're in danger in Syria. Why would you leave family behind for months on end just so they don't get a little uncomfortable?

Because barely anyone could afford the trip for more than one person

I have news for you, women and children can sit in a truck for 14 hrs. At least western women and children can.

I don't get the point of whatever you're trying to prove you idiot, there are women and children that go on the boats and stuff, but the truck stuff are men..also because it's a costly and lengthy process and not all of them have to go, only one person goes and gets the rest by reunification..who fucking cares if it's the men or women

What do you think about all the "refugees" who are on the trains throwing away the water and food people are giving them and shouting Allah Akhbar?

Also a lot of refugees from countries like Afghanistan have turned parts of Sweden into slums and some of them have groomed and gang raped Swedish girls, what you think of them and do they give refugees a bad name?

Whatever you've seen of some refugees does not represent everyone 1 or even 100 people does not represent hundreds of thousands of people, and if they're committing a crime then they get treated like a criminal just like anyone else , I don't see the problem.. And I don't really know about the raping problem .. It wasn't very common to where I was living.. Rape isn't a crime exclusive to one group of people it's possible that anyone could do it so targeting a tiny fraction of a large group of people is kind of stupid, and for whoever that does it.. A punishment should follow ..

Do you understand why many countries have difficulties just opening their doors to hundreds of thousands of migrants? Whether it be the threat of Muslim Radicalization, Terrorists pretending to be migrants, or just the outright cost of taking in so many individuals who will take a toll on resources.

Yes I understand why some countries are making it difficult, I also think that a few countries could have dealt with this whole issue in a better way. It saddens me that this whole situation is made a lot worse due to the shittyness of some radicals, because a lot of people are genuinely are just innocent people just seeking a better future. A long with the bad people we see I feel that we must also recognize the good people, me and my family like to obey the rules and be active members of society and I saw many other people like that. The refugee problems would've not been as much of a problem as it is now had the international community dealt with situation in a better way. When there's a shitty situation like the one it is in Syria, there are weak and helpless people that could be easily mislead, that situation made it easier for islamic groups to brainwash and radicalize those people.

Sorry to be a shit meenymcwinnie, You have no (real) proof.

I can provide any page of passport and my civil Id.. I just don't want to link it to me

You live in a country where there's no freedom why don't you change your citizenship?

It's not something you can easily do, it was impossible where I used to live

Are you muslim? IF so, what is so exciting about marrying your first cousin?

I'm ashamed of people who do that and I'm sure it's not only an Arab thing , and I'd describe myself as Agnostic .. Other than that I've had a girlfriend got two years

Everyone's being such a dick to you, I'm sorry.

I'm very tolerant and am interested in hearing other people's views, it's impossible to say something without having no one get but hurt

How many Swedish have you raped so far?

None you degenerate