Joma’a, 35, assistant in a dental care laboratory. Origin: Homs, Syria
« We were living in Homs. I was working in a dental care laboratory, I had a good situation there. But the bombings destroyed our neighbourhood. Most of our friends died. We lost our house. It had become too dangerous for us to stay there. That’s why I fled with other members of my family. We were aware that it would be very risky to cross the Aegean. Therefore we decided to follow another itinerary, longer but less dangerous, bypassing the Mediterranean Sea through Jordan, Egypt and the Maghreb countries. We then reached Spain. From Spain we got to Belgium via a smugglers’ network: we were crowded into vans, with women and children, without windows nor light. Every four hours approximately, the van stopped. We were forced to get off and wait for another van. Then we continued the journey for another four hours and so forth until we arrived in Belgium. All I am asking for now is to be able to live in peace. »
Interview : Albin Wantier
Photo : David Crunelle