Personal Info
- Country of residence: Sweden
Information
Abdullah
Al-Marei (34 years old), who left the Yarmouk camp, south of the Syrian
capital, Damascus, "dreams of writing his name, as the first refugee, on
the list of candidates for the Swedish parliamentary elections, to be held in
2022," according to his interview with Quds Press.
Al-Marei
describes his journey from the capital of the "Palestinian diaspora"
to Sweden, and the accompanying events, all the way to knocking on the doors of
the Swedish Parliament, representing the Wasat Party, as a "miracle."
He explains
that, like any Palestinian living in the Yarmouk camp, he "studied
elementary school in UNRWA schools, majored in commerce and economics at
Damascus University, and worked in a United Nations bank in the Syrian
capital."
Al-Marei
graduated from Damascus University in late 2010, and on August 8, 2012,
Al-Marei arrived in Turkey, on a “journey of torment,” as he describes it,
during which he was imprisoned for 3 months, and after his release, he
continued. He was on his way to Europe, only to be arrested by the Greek police
for a period of 5 months, according to his interview with a Quds Press reporter
new beginning
Al-Marei
arrived in Sweden in June 2013, "to find himself facing a new reality with
zero data, after he used to enjoy a respectable job and a good financial
situation," and he says: "Suddenly everything collapsed, and I had to
accept this challenge." So I went directly to language institutes and the
Red Cross, and began to participate in voluntary courses, moving from one city
to another.”
He continues,
"I continued my university studies, and during this period I got a job
opportunity, in a Stockholm bank."
He adds,
"In 2015, I volunteered in civil and political society activities, and I
was the first refugee columnist in the Swedish newspaper Metro, and I worked in
it between 2017 and 2019."
He indicated
that he was active during that period in conducting surveys on the Swedish
street, on labor and integration issues, and presenting the results of the
polls to Swedish politicians.
"The last
step towards parliament"
"I
believe in the necessity of bringing about a change in the Swedish political
scene, so last year we launched the campaign (The Last Step Towards the Swedish
Parliament), which included a march from the city of Hittoporid to the city of
Stockholm and collected about 53,000 signatures," says Al-Marei.
He continued,
"We formed a committee of several people who take up different issues,
such as the file of children who arrived in Sweden without their parents, and
the Palestinians who do not have any legal papers."
Al-Marei spoke
to Quds Press about the broad outlines of his vision regarding refugee issues
in Sweden, pointing out that thousands of Palestinians in Sweden do not have residency,
especially those coming from Gaza, in addition to the Syrians who obtained
temporary residency in 2015, and are threatened with deportation. We have
Afghan refugees.
He added,
"As a member of the board of directors of the United Nations Office in
Sweden, I cannot separate one refugee from another, and therefore, attention
will be given to the file of refugees of all nationalities."
He continues,
"In addition to asylum issues, work, housing and integration issues will
be among the priorities of my political programme."
He added,
"We are working to clarify matters for politicians in Sweden, and we are
seeking to secure support for education and health in Palestine in order to
bring about real change there."
On Monday
11-15-2021, the Wasat Party announced the candidacy of the young Abdullah
Al-Marei for the upcoming parliamentary elections, to be held in late summer
2022, thus becoming "the first Palestinian-Syrian refugee in Sweden to run
in the Swedish parliamentary elections."
source
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