Fawzia's Story, Syria
That's what we want to do, to build a team or a common platform.
Fawzia, tell me something about yourself, please. First of all, how do you pronounce your name?
Fawzia with a “W”. My name is Fawzia Rehejeh. I came to Romania in 2016. I started university from scratch, Communication and Public Relations. I define myself as a cultural emigrant. When I came, I didn’t understand the Romanian language and I didn’t understand the Romanian culture. I didn’t know anything. Like a refugee who arrived from a war-torn area and wants to start everything from scratch, literally.. Job, university… Normal life was beginning for a teenager who left the war zone that was destroyed both economically and physically. I continued with a Master in Advertising and Branding. Through my experience, I had the courage to open an Arab Cultural Center in Sibiu. The main idea was to promote emigrants and refugees in Romania, because I saw that there was nothing organized from our side, as emigrants.
The idea came from my personal experience. At first I didn't have access to Romanian language courses, when I was looking for a job I didn't even know where and how to start. Through our center, we promote interculturality between Romanian and Arab culture in general and migrants and refugees in Romania, especially.
And now, for example, on a scale of 1 to 10, how integrated do you consider yourself?
I think it's an 8. First of all, I think in Romanian even when I'm alone. And this is a very big step for me. Because the moment you think in Romanian, you've already overcome many barriers. I have a job, I'm satisfied. I'm not saying completely satisfied, but in some respects.
What new things did you learn in Romania?
Yes, I learned a lot. It may seem strange, but I learned, how to send emails, first of all. The culture where I came from was not so digitalized at that time. Sure, we had phones and technology, but I learned, first of all, how to write emails.
I also learned to ask for and seek help as an emigrant. Today, through our center, I want to pass this experience on to other migrants, the fact that we can build relationships with the community here and with other NGOs that deal with the same topics as us, to build healthy relationships, to be able to ask for what we need, to be able to move forward through integration.
If you were to give a practical piece of advice to Romanians who have direct contact with those coming from Syria, for example, what do you think they should know to make integration easier and more fortunate?
You know that it is a popular saying that urges us to put ourselves in the shoes of others. For example, Romanians empathized a lot with the Ukrainians. When they saw what was happening to them, they imagined that the same thing could happen to them. We can apply this empathy to everyone who suffers from wars or poverty. And when we think that anyone could be in their place, I say to treat everyone with empathy, with understanding, to lend a helping hand, to understand people, even if they are culturally or religiously different.
Regarding the Arab Cultural Center organization that you lead, what were the biggest problems before it started to ‘float’ (be operational)?
Yes, it's semi-floating. Sometimes I say it's drowning (laughs). I can also make jokes in Romanian, see?
The first challenge was to find people to join us, who have the same vision.
What is this vision?
To promote the secular side of the Arab world. Let's understand each other, because this unites us. Without resorting to politics and religion. This was the first challenge, to find people like us.
Another challenge was to find funding, which is extremely difficult. The environment in Romania is very competitive. And then it is very difficult for an emigrant, either to have access to public funds, or to have access to at least minimal funding. Yes, but we manage.
What project would you develop if you had enough money? If money were not an issue, what project would you promote?
I would invest even more in festivals, as I have done so far and succeeded with the Arab Culture Festival. Because I see the Arab Culture Festival as a platform to encourage Arab immigrants and immigrants from the Middle East to express themselves through informal education.
The fear of losing your identity is a big issue when you are in another country, or another culture. For the team from the Arab Cultural Center, the Arab Culture Festival is a chance to defend and develop our culture. People here – either out of fear or lack of information – see this culture differently.
We try to bring to the surface what we really believe about Arab culture. We want to show what it means to live in Romania with an Arab name, or from the Orient, to be an immigrant, a refugee, regardless of where from.
Last year was the first festival, and this year it reached its second edition. What are the results? How would you see the festival in 2024?
I'm glad it existed. It was a success, because at first I didn't think that many people would participate. I discovered an audience that was interested. I presented from a different perspective, the perspective of the younger generation, the fact that we can change things for the better, to a better intercultural dialogue, which we don't think exists in Romania yet. This dialogue doesn't exist among immigrants either.
That's what we want to do, to build a team or a common platform. For this reason, I'm very happy that we found people with the same vision. Through the festival we managed to meet more Arab immigrants and refugees with the same visions.
Our plan is for the festival to grow from year to year, in terms of the diversity of events, but also in terms of its visibility in the public space. We want to develop the Arab Culture Festival into a platform for representing the Arab community in Romania and beyond. We also want the festival to become a strong voice through which immigrants can be heard at local, national and international levels.
Care a fost publicul vostru la acest festival? Au fost și români? What was your audience at this festival? Were there also Romanians? What was your audience at this festival? Were there also Romanians? What was your audience at this festival? Were there also Romanians?
Yes, we have two types of audience: the younger generation, here I mean college students and schoolchildren, whom we also engage through other types of events and meetings.
The other part of the audience was people over 40 years old from Sibiu and other places in Romania, such as Bucharest and Cluj.
Thinking about these people who want to integrate, what is their main problem at the moment?
The biggest problem is finding jobs. Of course they need Romanian language courses, because it is difficult to find a job when you are not working for multinationals where they can only manage with English, which is not even their native language.
For example, yesterday, a boy contacted me from Cluj and said: “I am fed up, I can not work all my life in restaurants. I worked for the Red Crescent in Syria, I have experience, I graduated from law and I want to find an NGO where I can work.” And I directed him to an organization in Cluj. I told him to start even as a volunteer, to start from there and maybe he will have the chance that he wants.
When you talk about immigrants from the Arab world, what are the countries that they come from, that you have direct or indirect contact with?
Many come from Iraq, who initially immigrated to Syria, and then, when the war in Syria started, they fled from there. We have immigrants from Iran, there is a large community from Turkey as well. We have a lot from Bangladesh, Nepal, and India. They are mostly economic immigrants, who came to find better jobs.
And you manage to bring all these people together?
Yes, we have managed to gather together so far through several culinary events, we have also organized Romanian language courses for immigrants, regardless of where they are from.
Thank you for the interview!
Această povestire face parte din colecția “Human Stories”, ce ilustrează voci ale persoanelor refugiate la noi în țară și experiențele lor unice. Interviul a avut loc în martie 2023.