Thé Syrian refugee and the Snickers bar story is Hani’s story. He shared it with me as he drove me to Berlin Airport.

I had been to the big travel market to interview two fantastic guests for my podcast: Kiran Haslam and Mohammed Modhayan. My German is schoolgirl – although of course I trot it out at every opportunity. When my uber driver told me his name was Hani and he was Syrian, I switched gratefully to Arabic.

Me: ‘It seems like Syria is one piece of good news at the moment in a world of bad news. What do you think?’ (Syria is a developing situation and things may change.)

Hani: ‘Al Hamdullilah. The new president is better than good. He is there for the people. For all the people. We can go back now but I am just waiting for my German citizenship. The thing I want to do most is visit my father’s grave, may God bless him, he died when I came here. I have never seen his grave.’

For love of a father

I try to imagine what that is like. To have fled to a foreign country and missed your father’s death and his burial. Years later you have still not seen where he is laid to rest.

Hani: ‘I come from Idlib. The. At the beginning of the war when there were people lying dead in the streets, I was put in prison purely because I was from Idlib Did you see the prisons in Damascus? What happened to the people there? There were prisons everywhere, underground. For a week, I too was under the earth. Then I was let out and my father told me to leave.’

‘I got to Greece and from there I walked for 43 days here to Germany. There was a group of us, around 24. All men. We walked with the GPS to find our way. We couldn’t carry anything. We only ate dates and snickers bars. You know a snickers is really light and has a lot of energy. One or two in a day, it is enough.’

I tell him that I too have just walked a similar time and distance across Saudi but in freedom and safety and with money and food and security. We both think about the differences between those two walks and I feel so grateful for my life and so sad that Hani has had to bear what he has.

Longing for home

He came to Germany nearly a decade ago and he says he likes it but life is very different and that he will go back when he can. ‘Everyone longs for his own land. When we go back, we will also bring a new perspective because we have lived here.’

I ask him if he is married.

Hani: ‘Yes. For a year. My mother arranged it.’

Me: ‘Ah, is your mother here?’

Mother knows best

Hani: ‘No, she is in Syria. My wife is Syrian from my own village but she was living in Germany. My Mum found her and knew she would be a good wife for me. I travelled 7 hours to visit her. We had coffee together and I knew. I knew from the first instant and she agreed and we were married. Love grows after marriage.’

I wish Hani all good things, happiness in his marriage, healthy children and a safe return. As I am getting ready to leave he says.

‘There is just one thing. I will never eat another snickers bar again. Never, ever.’

Thank you so much, Hani, for sharing your story – The Syrian refugee and the Snickers bar.