A Syrian rescuing people at war. Akhmad chose not to leave Ukraine, the country that sheltered him
I dreamt of becoming a doctor to save people’s lives and not to kill my country people
Akhmad has always dreamt of becoming a doctor. Nevertheless, he would never have thought of having to work in the times of war under the sound of explosions and whooshing planes.
‚March 17 left an indelible imprint on my memory. We were about to arrive at the call in the Moscow (it has now been renamed into the Kharkiv) avenue. There had been a missile strike. Having arrived at the scene, we saw lots of injured civilians. There were several corpses lying around and lots of blood. I will never forget a man waving to me and asking for help. A fragment of a missile had injured him in his knee with the lower parts of his body being affected. While I was checking his wounds, I heard another whoosh. The next round of shelling began. What happened next was kind of a blur. I don't know how I managed to hop into the ambulance. But the worst day came on April 17. We were on our way to help a man and a woman who had been injured by shards of a missile. No sooner had I began to treat their wounds than we heard a whoosh of yet another shelling. Eight missiles landed nearby. I thought my number was up. Luckily, we managed to take shelter in a demolished café nearby’, Akhmad recalls the most horrible days of his life. In the past several months this has become his routine in Kharkiv.
Akhmad Aldvikhi came to Kyiv at 18 to study at a medical university. He was dreaming of obtaining a European diploma and working as a doctor. However, things turned out differently. His visit back home and a reunion with his loved ones was not destined to happen. In 2011, a war broke out in Syria.
‚At first it smacked of a revolution or some minor upheaval. But then in September my parents called me and said that it was actually a war. Our house was hit by two missiles and my parents had to leave for the capital city. I was really afraid for them since there was no way I could help them. Nor could I go back home as I would have been conscripted into the army right away. And I dreamt of becoming a doctor to save lives and not to kill my country people’, Akhmad says.
After the university Akhmad moved to Kharkiv and landed a job at the ambulance service. However, it was no mean feat considering that he was a citizen of another country. It is since that time that Akhmad has not seen his parents. He communicates with them only online. Life has changed a lot in Syria after the war started.
‚Anyone who does not approve of the regime can put themselves at risk of being reduced to dust. That is why people are forced to adjust and to lie about their sympathy with the new government. I don't want to live such a life and I don’t wish such a fate on Ukraine, either’, Akhmad says.
I spent first 79 days of the war living in a basement at my work
When the war in Syria broke out, Ahmad was thousands of miles away from his motherland. However, all this time he has been afraid (and still is) for his parents. A new war caught him in Ukraine and he has been scared for his own life ever since.
‚I woke up 15 minutes before my alarm clock was due to sound. The clock showed 4:45 am. I woke up to the sounds of explosions in Kharkiv. It was my watch on that day, February 24. Planes were zooming overhead. It was really scary. I lived on the ninth floor and immediately dashed into the basement without having put any clothes on. I started shouting to my neighbors telling them to save themselves. From February 26 to May 15 I practically lived at my work, that is in the basement of an ambulance station. I have come under shelling on many occasions. However, we carried on working’, Akhmad says.
He could have left Ukraine at any time. He is not liable for military service since he doesn't hold Ukrainian citizenship. However, he chose to stay and to risk his own life for the sake of rescuing others.
‚Yes, I was thinking of leaving the country since I was so scared. My parents also asked me to leave but I couldn’t. I have a sense of duty to Ukraine. It may appear weird to some, but I have had and still do this feeling that I owe Ukraine my shelter. I am grateful to people who have treated me well. I have found my second half here. My girlfriend is Ukrainian. This country has become my second home. Friends and colleagues sometimes jokingly refer to me as a ‚Syrian khokhol‘ (khokhol is a derogatory Russian term for Ukrainians - translator’s note). After the war began my father told me to leave the country and my mother literally implored me to do so. And each time I would keep promising them that I would do that the following day, while still working and believing that the war would be over soon. They have stopped asking me to leave, having come to terms with the fact that I wouldn’t, even though Kharkiv is being shelled every day. Even today 15 missiles have landed in the city since 8 in the morning (Akhmad was interviewed on July 12 - editor’s note)’, says the Syrian.
Akhmad has not been able to obtain the status of a refugee or Ukrainian citizenship for 10 years
Akhmad is not Ukrainian document-wise, however, he is one in his soul. He has embraced local mentality and traditions. He has not abandoned his attempts to achieve the cherished official recognition, though.
In 2012 his Syrian passport expired. He went to the embassy of Syria in Ukraine only to be told that there was nothing they could do. They said to him that he was supposed to go back to Syria where he would be forced to take up arms or be incarcerated as was the case with all dissenters there.
In search for justice Akhmad contacted the charitable foundation Right for Protection. Lawyers of this foundation have spent 2 years fighting for the recognition of Akhmad as a refugee in Ukraine. They contacted the State Migration Service, having gotten refusals every time. They also went to court. In 2014 Akhmad finally obtained a status of a person requiring additional protection. Unfortunately, the migration service did not grant him the status of a refugee, which is why according to the law he doesn't have the right to apply for Ukrainian citizenship.
‚The thing is that the status of a refugee gives one the right to apply for citizenship after three years of uninterrupted residency in Ukraine. The status of additional protection does not provide such a right, unfortunately. Together with Akhmad our foundation has initiated numerous appeals to the Ukrainian parliament and the Office of President Poroshenko (and of his successor Zelenskyy) requiring to ensure equal rights of refugees and persons requiring additional protection in terms of their having an opportunity to acquire citizenship after a certain period of time specified by law. Unfortunately, our advocacy efforts have failed. Nonetheless, we continue to work in this direction so that such people as Akhmad have the right to become not only Ukrainians in terms of their souls, but also in terms of their IDs’, Olena Richko says, lawyer of the charitable foundation Right for Protection which deals with providing help for refugees and protection seekers.
‚I have not abandoned my hopes for President Zelenskyy hearing me and finally taking notice of my appeal about ensuring equal rights of refugees and persons requiring additional protection. Hopefully, the charitable foundation Right for Protection, which has been supporting me through all these years, will also help me reach my goal through changes in legislation. It’s just not fair! I want to honestly and legally have the right to become a citizen of the country in and for which I have been working for over 15 years’, Akhmad says.
How many foreigners face similar problems in Ukraine and whom they should contact for help
With the beginning of the war over 200 foreigners from different countries have contacted the foundation Right for Protection for help in the matters of protection. These are refugees from the Russian Federation, Belarus, Syria, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka and other countries. They all have been forced to flee from their native countries for various reasons - political or religious persecution, war, etc.
,Before the war approximately 2000 people would annually contact our foundation for help in obtaining the refugee status. After the war broke out, lots of our beneficiaries have abandoned Ukraine since almost all of them know what war is about… They had had this experience before… Some of them had gone through this more than once. We continue offering help to those who have stayed. We keep in touch with people who are seeking shelter in Europe. Currently, the main problem that is faced by people is that the State Migration Service has not fully resumed its operations yet and is currently not accepting requests for their recognition as refugees’, Svitlana Butenko says, manager of a project at Right for Protection helping refugees.
The foundation has been supporting refugees and protection seekers since 2004. It has been providing legal and social assistance, representing their clients in court and helping them integrate. For refugees from other countries the foundation has created a special bilingual channel on Telegram Help for Refugees. Besides, the foundation also provides assistance across the entire country.
Should you have any questions regarding border crossing, replacement of lost IDs or destroyed housing, social payments or the refugee certificate, you can phone the foundation any day from 7 am to 10 pm on the following hot lines:
- VODAFONE: +380995075090
- KYIVSTAR: +380685075090
- LIFECELL: +380935075090
Or contact it via the channel on Telegram Right to Protection.
