Nawar takes a break from a busy day to tell us about his family and the outreach work he is doing with the Syrian community in Pafos. © UNHCR Cyprus
Nawar is originally from Idlib, Syria, and arrived in Cyprus with his wife and son in 2018 to seek asylum. Though trained as a computer engineer, in the short time he has been in Cyprus, he has established himself as a business owner, supplying building materials to developers and construction companies. Nawar is also a foster father and an active volunteer and is very well networked with the Syrian community in the Pafos area, where he says 50-60% of the community knows him and regularly call him for help and advice.
Nawar is concerned about the recent incidents among the Syrian community in Chlorakas and is determined to bring positive change to support the integration of Syrian refugees in the Pafos area. He is currently in the process of establishing a community organization that will be registering as an association to support the Syrian community with civic orientation and integration programmes. This would include information provision and assistance with administrative matters when refugees, especially newcomers, interact with the authorities, since as Nawar told us, it takes an average of some 3.5 years for Syrian asylum-seekers to receive a decision on their asylum applications. “Syrian culture and Cypriot culture are not the same,” Nawar said, explaining that language is not the only difference. “But the people who come here, we want to learn about the laws here; we want to understand; we want to do things legally and correctly,” Nawar said. The small group of young Syrian men aged 17-21 in Chlorakas who have recently hit the headlines, Nawar explains, have only ever known war and lawlessness; many are without any schooling. “They don’t know anything else,” Nawar said. “No matter where they go, they will be the same; they need support to find themselves.”
“Syrian culture and Cypriot culture are not the same…But the people who come here, we want to learn about the laws here; we want to understand; we want to do things legally and correctly.”
Since the onset of the pandemic, Nawar has been an active volunteer with different community organisations supporting Syrian refugees and other vulnerable persons in need. “Cyprus is a beautiful country with good people,” said Nawar. “Volunteering to help others during the Coronavirus lockdowns was a way for me to give back to this country that has welcomed me and my family and given us safety.”
“When refugees come here, we don’t want social benefits from the government; we want to work.”
Becoming increasingly active in the community, Nawar understands its wider needs, as well as the wishes and vulnerabilities of the individuals within it, but also the subtleties of adjusting socially and culturally to a new life as a refugee in a foreign country. He has recently become a member of the UNHCR’s program Refugee Outreach Volunteers to be able to further support the integration needs of the refugee community in Pafos. Meanwhile, Nawar and other refugees are working voluntarily on a renovation project in the centre of town in collaboration with the Municipality of Pafos. Through this initiative, the refugees want to give back to the community that has given them a haven after fleeing war and persecution in their home countries. “When refugees come here, we don’t want social benefits from the government; we want to work,” said Nawar. “Many of the people who are helping with the renovation project are skilled construction workers who are out of work or not allowed to work. They are willing to offer their time voluntarily to help the Municipality with this project.” Nawar told us that he is also organizing a larger group of friends who are keen to assist the Municipality with a clean-up day.
Speaking about the empowerment of Syrian women and girls, for example the importance of engaging them in language learning and other programmes, Nawar said, “In Syrian culture, if you want to help the family, you have to help the men to understand why it is important; to empower and help the women, you must educate and inform the men.”
“Money is not everything in life. You don’t need money to be happy.”
Nawar takes a break from work every afternoon to spend time with his son and foster child. “Family doesn’t want money. Family wants your time,” said Nawar. “Money is not everything in life. You don’t need money to be happy. When we have money, we go out; when we don’t have money we go for a picnic and spend time together.” When asked whether he would like to return to Syria, Nawar explained that he loves his country, and speaks about what a good life he and his family had there before the conflict; his father was a successful businessman and all his siblings are university graduates, including a brother who is now a doctor in Germany, another brother who is an architect waiting for his certification in Cyprus and a sister who is a multi-lingual translator for a property development company in Pafos. “But the war is not the only problem,” said Nawar. “There is no food. Even if the war ends today, it will take, who knows, how many years for things to get better.”
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