Muhammet Hacı Kasım is one of the beneficiaries of the “Şirketim” project. He is 32 years old, and he is the owner of a barbershop for two years in İstanbul.
He was born in Aleppo in 1988, and until 2013 he lived in Aleppo. Before coming to Turkey, he was living a stable life.
He studied until the end of primary school, and he was working as a barber before coming to Turkey. However, the war put a hold on the stable life he was living, and he had to come to Turkey and start a new life.
In 2013, when he had no choice but to escape the war, he came to Turkey with his wife. He entered the country through the countryside of Aleppo from the city of Azaz. When he escaped the war in Syria, he did not have any kids. Now he has two, both born in Turkey, the older one is three years old, and the younger one is one year old. He lives in Ümraniye with his family.
Starting a brand-new life was not easy for him, as he said he had no idea how to find a job or he did not know anything regarding the job market in Turkey. He asked his friends for help to get a job, and one of his friends helped him to get his first job in Turkey. In the beginning, he was working as a barber in another barbershop. He states that the job was good, and he had no trouble with the employer. After a while, he decided to establish his own business as a barber. It was a hard job for him because he had a hard time dealing with the necessary registrations. When he opened his own barbershop for the first, he suffered a lot because of the lack of required registrations, as well as having limited knowledge over the subject.
Prior to the project, he had no idea about United Work or GIZ. He had some information about United Work and GIZ when one of the project employees visited his workplace. Later, he consulted his friends about it, and they advised him to join the “Şirketim” Project. Before joining the project, he only had a tax plate, but now, he has a work permit registered in the chamber of handicraft; he obtained a municipality license, a fire extinguisher, and a POS machine. Besides, he benefited from COVID-19 financial support. This project provided significant support to him, and he benefited a lot. He states that this project is a very successful one, and the continuation of this project is essential.
He has no problem now, he even thinks of expanding his business, open a new branch in İstanbul or in another area, and he wants to employ more employees. He got the necessary registrations that he needs in order to be formal. In addition, during the pandemic crisis, his business seriously influenced. Thanks to the project support, he received substantial financial support during uncertain times.
When he came to Turkey, he did not know how to speak or write Turkish. He faced many problems because of that, but he did not back down and learned Turkish. Now he can speak and write, and he has a lot of Turkish friends. He has a good relationship with the people around him. He thinks that as long as a person treats people well, they will treat the same way as well. He is not thinking about going back to Syria anymore, he started his brand new life in Turkey, and he and his family are please
