Family Naaman

I met the Syrian family Naaman in a refugee camp in Lebanon in 2013. After having resided in a camp there for over a year, the family was selected by the UNHCR to migrate to the Netherlands as part of the annual quotum of 500 refugees permitted to come to the Netherlands. Since December 2014 the family lives in Terneuzen, in a small house in one of the suburbs mainly consisting of houses owned by housing corporations. The family takes Dutch classes four times a week and slowly makes progress.

Due to the language barrier, the less than inspiring neighbourhood and inter alia the fact that they are not allowed to drive with their Syrian drivers’ license, the family currently leads a relatively isolated life. They are however determined to learn the Dutch language in order to pass their integration exam and hope to be able to find a job soon so they are able to again become self sufficient and rebuild their lives in the Netherlands.