Meet Khaled, who has begun a new life in Europe. 

It was like heaven calling

Name: Khaled
From: Syria
Resettled to: Sweden

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Khaled and his son in his garden at his new home in Sweden. Photo: G. Nord for the IRC

Before war broke out, Khaled, now 33, lived a happy and stable life with his family near Damascus, Syria, where he worked as a health care technician and grew cherry trees.

His life changed forever on the 16th March 2014. “Everything was destroyed. My dreams, everything we built, gone in an instant,” he says. His house was hit by heavy shelling. That day he lost a number of his family members, including his two children. His own leg was shattered.

After spending around a year in Lebanon receiving treatment, he was offered the opportunity to apply for resettlement.

“I thought to myself, it’s almost like heaven calling.”

The main reason he accepted resettlement, he says, was to receive treatment, and to regain some sort of normality and a sense of security in his life.

Later that year he was resettled to Sweden. “When I left I was sad and apprehensive, I was leaving everything familiar behind. Today, however, I am happy with my family in Sweden, being treated humanely and with respect and dignity. My neighbours and even random people on the street ask me ‘how am I doing?’ That is what I like the most.”


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Join Ben & Jerry's and the International Rescue Committee and email your representative. You can help vulnerable refugees reach safety. Ben and Jerry’s latest flavour, Home Sweet Honeycomb has been launched to help spread the word. The more people who are together for refugees – the more likely it is that we can make this happen. Get involved and learn more here.