,
12 tweets,
5 min read
Read on Twitter
THREAD
“I had everything that I needed,” Maskoun says in fluent English.”I had my education, I did my engineering in one of the best universities, I had my car, my friends, the little house I thought I’d get married in one day.”
Then, suddenly, he didn’t.”
unhcr.org/innovation/ref…
“I had everything that I needed,” Maskoun says in fluent English.”I had my education, I did my engineering in one of the best universities, I had my car, my friends, the little house I thought I’d get married in one day.”
Then, suddenly, he didn’t.”
unhcr.org/innovation/ref…
Refugee Narrative /2
“Gone was the family business, and the new business centers Maskoun was helping his dad set up. The house. Too many friends and loved ones to think about. And Maskoun’s confidence that he could live in freedom if he lived at all..”
“Gone was the family business, and the new business centers Maskoun was helping his dad set up. The house. Too many friends and loved ones to think about. And Maskoun’s confidence that he could live in freedom if he lived at all..”
Refugee Narrative /3
“He’d already completed his engineering degree and his siblings seemed poised to follow in his footsteps: His sister studied biological engineering, his brother electrical engineering, and his little brother was acing his ninth-grade classes.”
“He’d already completed his engineering degree and his siblings seemed poised to follow in his footsteps: His sister studied biological engineering, his brother electrical engineering, and his little brother was acing his ninth-grade classes.”
Refugee Narrative /4
“It was a clear choice: kill or be killed. Maskoun could not stomach either option.
The Maskouns fled Syria and made their way across borders and nations, mercifully safe and eventually together in Marne-la-Vallee, a town on the outskirts of Paris.”
“It was a clear choice: kill or be killed. Maskoun could not stomach either option.
The Maskouns fled Syria and made their way across borders and nations, mercifully safe and eventually together in Marne-la-Vallee, a town on the outskirts of Paris.”
Refugee Narrative /5
“By being granted asylum in France, Maskoun had a chance to start a new life. But at first, it was hard to feel anything but lost, and lonely.
“The refugee is a broken person when he arrives in a new country,” Maskoun says.”
“By being granted asylum in France, Maskoun had a chance to start a new life. But at first, it was hard to feel anything but lost, and lonely.
“The refugee is a broken person when he arrives in a new country,” Maskoun says.”
Refugee Narrative /5
By being granted asylum in France, Maskoun had a chance to start a new life. But at first, it was hard to feel anything but lost, and lonely.
“The refugee is a broken person when he arrives in a new country,” Maskoun says.
By being granted asylum in France, Maskoun had a chance to start a new life. But at first, it was hard to feel anything but lost, and lonely.
“The refugee is a broken person when he arrives in a new country,” Maskoun says.
Refugee Narrative /6
“He was also up against pernicious stereotypes faced by many refugees. The belief that refugees come to other countries to take people’s jobs, &collect welfare checks. That they show up for gov’t handouts &don’t pay any taxes.That they are lazy..extremists.”
“He was also up against pernicious stereotypes faced by many refugees. The belief that refugees come to other countries to take people’s jobs, &collect welfare checks. That they show up for gov’t handouts &don’t pay any taxes.That they are lazy..extremists.”
Refugee Narrative /7
“But Maskoun’s drive to develop himself kept him resolutely moving forward..He enrolled in a master’s program &fine-tuned the French he’d picked up on the street. When he had trouble understanding the lectures, he recorded them, &played them back at night.”
“But Maskoun’s drive to develop himself kept him resolutely moving forward..He enrolled in a master’s program &fine-tuned the French he’d picked up on the street. When he had trouble understanding the lectures, he recorded them, &played them back at night.”
Refugee Narrative /8
“2 master’s degrees &French identity card later,Maskoun is giving back..He lent his experiences &talents to a program called Wintegreat to address..a sliver of the refugee crisis:..young,ambitious refugees—newly arrived need help to continue their educations.
“2 master’s degrees &French identity card later,Maskoun is giving back..He lent his experiences &talents to a program called Wintegreat to address..a sliver of the refugee crisis:..young,ambitious refugees—newly arrived need help to continue their educations.
Refugee Narrative /9
“The main challenge is—when we meet these refugees,they’re all motivated,they know what they want to do,but they don’t know how to do that,”Maskoun says.”I met a refugee who wanted to be a doctor.He knew that.But he didn’t know how to be a doctor in France.”
“The main challenge is—when we meet these refugees,they’re all motivated,they know what they want to do,but they don’t know how to do that,”Maskoun says.”I met a refugee who wanted to be a doctor.He knew that.But he didn’t know how to be a doctor in France.”
Refugee Narrative /10
“I try to broadcast what I can do as a person and to give a positive example to show people we are something, we are just like you,” Maskoun says. “We lost everything, what we need is just a little opportunity to prove that we can add value.”
“I try to broadcast what I can do as a person and to give a positive example to show people we are something, we are just like you,” Maskoun says. “We lost everything, what we need is just a little opportunity to prove that we can add value.”
Refugee Narrative /11
