To Scotland and Scottish people Iamsafehere’
on top of something like a metal bed.
“Then they started to Taser me. From the pain and fear I fell to the ground, but they started hitting me with a cable. I could not move. My body was not responding.”
Chadi was eventually released after his family paid a ransom and is now living with his family in Scotland. He hopes to shine a light on what is happening in Syria’s detention centres by telling his story to human rights groups.
The event also heard from Nazira Hijazi, 46, and her son Badr, 11, who has drawn a series of pictures about their life in Syria before and after the war. She was caught in a chemical weapons attack and was lucky to survive. A dozen members of her family were killed.
While almost all of the refugees speak through an interpreter, Nazira’s other son Yassine, 18, delivers his speech in English. The family has only lived in Coatbridge for 18 months, but he already has a noticeable Scottish accent.
After the family left Syria for Lebanon,hewasforcedtotake whatever work he could find to earn money rather than attending school. “Many people did not want us there and they made threats and abused us,” he says.
“One night they threw firecrackers that sounded like real explosives at our house. Having difficulty getting work and facing racism from the Lebanese made life very difficult.”
Occasionally he would return to Syria to meet up with other members of his family, but the trips carried great risks and he would often have to shelter from the bombs.
“I have watched from a distance as buildings were blown up by missiles fired from heavy artillery. It is very different from watching it in the movies,” he says. “I remember looking out of my window one night and seeing the red light of a rocket travelling up the street just outside.”
Although Yassine admits that he did not know much about Scotland before being resettled, he says the family feels “very welcome” and has not had any bad experiences with racism.
“I hope to attend college in the future and train in engineering. One day when there is peace, I hope to return to my country and meet up with my friends and family,” he says with a smile.