An asylum seeker who arrived in Luxembourg from Syria in July 2015, was forced to return to Turkey last Friday upon discovering that his pregnant wife and two of his five daughters has been killed in a school bombing perpetrated by Russian air rockets in Aleppo.

Mohamed Shakir al-Abad has been waiting for refugee status in the Grand Duchy, in orderto begin the reunification process with his family who remained in Kafarnaya, 25km north of the Syrian city of Aleppo. The city's suburbs have been under constant attack from several conflicted groups, putting its residents in continuous danger.

"My pregnant wife and five daughters went to Marrat Alnouman school in Kaljebrin with my old father and the families of my two brothers," Mohammad explained. "After two weeks of fleeing there, they suffered under very hard living conditions where there no food, water, electricity or heating sources. I lost total contact with them."

Mohammad's 25-year-old wife and daughters Fatima, Aliaa, Rawan, Rayan and Amira, were at the school when Russian cluster bombs targeted the district at dawn on 15 February 2016. Five hospitals and two schools were destroyed in the attack, with eyewitnesses putting the death toll at 30. Whilst 4-year old Rayan, 6-year-old Amira and 5-year-old Alia escaped the incident, albeit with injuries, the lives of 7-year-old Fatima, 3-year-old Rawan and Mohammad's wife were taken.

Mohammad attempted to put into words the loss and devastation he felt: "I started remembering the laughter of my daughters, I still remember how full of life they were when I talked to them, "we miss you Daddy". They were waiting for me to bring them to the safe place where they can live, but they were gone before I could do that. Fatima was the most pushy one, she insisted always eager to go back to school, yet I could not protect my family. I did not get my status until they are dead, it's too late now."

"We were devastated to see his reaction to the news and hear about it, we were there when he got the call, he screamed crying and he fainted on the floor, it's horrible and unbelievable," said Amer Oklah, a Palestinan refugee and a friend of Mohammad's. "I wanted to help him and stand by him, I took him to OLAI and we explained to the social worker his situation where she directly called the ministry of foreign affairs and refugees. We went there and they responded immediately and released his status and passport and resident permit in no time."

Financial donations enabled the Association de Soutien aux Travailleurs Immigrés (ASTI) to present Mr. Al-Abad with a cheque for €3,560 on Monday 22 February and another for €3,957 the following Wednesday 24 February. The money has been put towards travel expenses for Mohammad, who is now in Turkey attempting to reunite with his daughter Rayan who is being held at the Kilis Hospital close to the border. 7-year-old Amirat is currently also in Turkey, living with her uncle. Meanwhile, Alia appears to have disappeared along the Syrian-Turkish border, and is suspected to have been taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries.

Mohammad thanked the individuals whose financial contributions enabled him to travel to reunite with the remaining members of his family, as well as the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs, OLAI and Caritas for their support.

 

Photo provided by ASTI (Mohammad's five daughters)