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A Syrian refugee living in Cardiff has told how he had no option but to leave his war-torn country and he will never be able to return.
Melhem Mansour has spent the last seven months setting up a new life in the Welsh capital after he was forced to leave Syria at the start of the uprising in June 2011.
Describing himself as a “political activist against the regime”, the 33-year-old was managing a human rights project at the time, which included the setting up of the Syria Youth Parliament.
Melhem, from the Syrian capital of Damascus, said: “I was detained for two weeks at the special investigation unit.
“You are detained but are physically allowed to travel once. If I go back I will be arrested – I will never be able to go back.”
Melhem first fled to Canada and then Thailand, but, running out of money, he used the visa he still had from his time studying at Glasgow University to enter the UK.
He applied for refugee status and was eventually transferred to Cardiff, where he has struggled to find work, despite applying for around six jobs a week.
Now volunteering with the refugee organisation Oasis Cardiff, in Roath, Melhem said: “Even though you’re well educated, you haven’t got any references from Syria. You’ve lost communication with friends, it’s a chaotic situation.
“This is one of the challenges of refugees coming to Wales – job opportunities and investment are scarce. It’s challenging even for Welsh people let alone anyone else.
“It was very hard in the beginning, it’s not easy to be a refugee in another country but this is life.
“My family didn’t interfere in my personal choice to be a political activist but I have to care about their safety as well. I’m always reminded of the safety of my family back home and fingers crossed that this violence will stop. I’m against any kind of structure that prevents us from developing.”
International aid charity Oxfam says almost 1.8 million people have now fled Syria, with around 200,000 new refugees leaving each month. It expects the number of refugees to pass the two million mark by the end of this month.
Aid agencies announced last week that 80% of refugees are not even living in camps, but are forced to make-do in tented settlements or high cost rented accommodation and are concerned the international response is failing to match the scale of the crisis.
“I was in Lebanon some time ago and was able to meet the activists and learn about the suffering they face,” Melhem said.
He said issues include the devaluation of the Syrian currency, relief not being allowed into certain areas, kidnapping and the high cost of food and living.
“Some people live in tents. Some people in incomplete buildings. Other people rent small rooms in different houses in Jordan and many Syrians live in camps in Turkey.”
Mr Mansour is now trying to do what he can to help Syria.
“Being in the UK now is allowing me space to help and bring people together. I wouldn’t have been able to do that if I was still in Syria.”
To sign Oxfam’s petition for more aid and a peaceful solution, see www.oxfam.org.uk or to donate £5, text ‘love’ to 70066
