Abed Alsabbouh

While living in Syria, he was working in the computer maintenance sector and was the manager of one of the maintenance of printers company. In 2015, when conditions deteriorated in his country,  he decided to emigrate. He crossed the border from Idlib alone and settled in Istanbul. After coming to Istanbul, he got married and had a child. Today he lives in Fatih with his wife and child.

After coming to Turkey, he was slightly more fortunate than other refugees because he could find a job in his field of occupation. Still, all the problems, limitations, and restrictions of being a refugee were also unavoidable for him. Especially at the beginning, he could not do many things he wanted to do because of these restrictions. Nevertheless, day by day, he got used to Turkey and started to participate more in social life.

Thinking that he can start his own business, he established his own business 1.5 years ago. He thought that he would earn more and become happier. He established his own company in the telecommunications sector, which he has known and experienced for many years. Although establishing a company was very advantageous in certain aspects, it also means being subject to many rules and regulations during and after the establishment process. He knew the necessary rules in general for 1.5 years; therefore, he took some steps. Before applying for the project, he was already a tax and holding a work permit. However, as he could not have access to sufficient resources, he could not complete the chamber registration, municipality license, and the necessary inventories steps. These missing documents caused the municipality to make many visits to his workplace, and because of that, he was working with a constant fear of penalty and closure.

Prior to the project, he did not know about United Work or GIZ. However, when one of the project field officers visited his workplace, he learned about the two institutions and the project. When the field team explained the project in great detail, he decided to join the project. He needed to participate in such a project for the continuity of his work. Because both the costly and challenging registration processes and the deterioration of the business due to the pandemic had really damaged him financially; for this reason, the support provided within the scope of the project became a kind of medicine for him. He started to work safely by completing the necessary legal registrations, and he was eased with the financial support provided. She feels grateful to both GIZ and United Work for contributing to such a project.

When asked about the future, he states that he does not plan to leave Turkey. He thinks that people are very friendly in Turkey, and Turkish people supported Syrians all the time. Therefore, he appreciates this behavior of Turkish citizens. He also has positive thoughts about his business. He wants to develop his business, serve his services for more people, and provide employment opportunities for more people. If he can manage, he wants to establish another shop to get one step closer to his goals. However, in the long term, he thinks that the future is unknown, and it hides many opportunities, possibilities, and outcomes. Therefore, he does not know whether he will return to his country again; only states that want to stay in Turkey today.