Page 74 - MY Book - My Voice

Nabil from PalestineI am Nabil, a Palestinian, originally from Rafah. I am a chef by profession. I came to Norway,to Dikemark mottak, with one of my sons, two years ago, in 2013. To get here, we had to ee through the tunnels underground to cross the border between Palestine and Egypt. The tunnel was about 13 meters deep and 1 kilometer long. From Kairo, we continued the journey by plane to Istanbul without valid papers by bribing some o cials. From Istanbul, we paid some smugglers to help us. We were ten people hidden in a car, and they stole all our money and papers. We had no idea where they would take us; I didn’t know that I would end up in Norway.My application for asylum has been rejected. My son has a limited permit to stay until he becomes 18.My family is scattered all through Europe. I have three sons, only one is living with me. The oldest one is 19, he has been living in Greeceduring the day.Dikemark, February 2016The Norwegian Immigration Directorate (UDI) has reopened our case and will consider it ones more. My wife and son is still in Sweden, waiting for their case to be processed.Some weeks ago we had a visit from my oldest son, the one living in Greece, we were so happy; we hadn’t seen him for a long time.I try to be active all the time. I go shing, and I participate in all kinds of workshops and activities arranges by the reception center. Most of all I want my family to stay together and to get a job.for some years now. The youngest one is with my wife in Sweden. They left Gaza after us and were on their way to join us in Norway when they were stopped by the Police in Sweden and forced to register there. They have visited us a couple of times, in secret, they are not allowed to enter Norway.Mottaket (the reception center) has become like a home to me because there are people here that I love. At the mottak, I have become friends with people from many di erent countries and been familiar with cultures I didn’t know before.At the mottak I cook for my son, our neighbor Amona and the other residents. It gives me joy and something to hold on to72