The story of Berivan

The story of Berivan Raduan Suleiman

We are in the reception center of the State Agency for Refugees in Kovachevtsi . We are talking to Berivan, a 20-year-old girl from Syria. Next to her are her mother, Leila Yousef, 45, and her father, Raduan Ahmed Suleiman. The family consists of 6 people, Berivan has two more brothers and one sister. The Red Cross team, which also includes Svetloslav Rusev, chief expert on the restoration of family ties, is welcomed . He is the man who made them happy on December 30 with the greatest gift.

What happened ?
On November 18, 2013, Berivan, along with his parents, younger sister and two brothers, embarked on a difficult and dangerous journey across Turkey's border with Bulgaria. The goal is to reach Europe, where they can look for a better future, fleeing the horrors of the war in Syria.
The group consists of 25 people, traveling at night, the traffickers often encourage them to flee. At dawn, Berivan loses sight of his family and finds himself alone in the woods with his cousin. At 10-11 a.m., they were captured with several other fugitives and spent three days in the center of Elhovo. Later, Berivan was distributed in the center of Harmanli.
Her relatives failed to cross the border and returned to Turkish territory without knowing the girl's fate. At the end of November, they undertake a new experiment but - abandoned by the smugglers, they wander in the woods for two days, without food and drinking water. After their detention by the Border Police, they stayed in Elhovo, from where they were sent to the village of Kovachevtsi as a large family.
During a visit to a Red Cross humanitarian team in Kovachevtsi, Leyla, Berivan's mother, asked to look for her daughter.
Leila's application is joined by her sister Nadia Namat Bashar, 47, who lost both of her children, Abdul, 19, and Bashar, 14, when she failed to cross the border on November 18, 2013.
The case was taken over by the expert of the Red Cross and for this purpose the necessary steps have been taken before the institutions. Official letters and inquiries were written, meetings and conversations were held, contacts were made, including in the Red Cross system. Svetloslav Rusev managed to contact the mothers with their children by phone and it turned out that they were accommodated in the SAR center in Harmanli. An accelerated registration procedure has been in place for Berivan and her two cousins. On December 30, after more than a month and a half in obscurity, the three were transported to Kovachevtsi and can finally embrace their parents. A great gift for the New Year.

Here is what they shared in the interviews:
"Berivan, what will you tell us?" How did it feel to be reunited with your family?
Berivan Raduan Suleiman : I cannot express my joy! I just have no words .... I was very happy that they found me and brought me here. I was just a girl there .... I was not well there at all ... with people I didn't know, complete strangers ... I felt very lonely ... And the conditions there were very difficult ... But now, thank you to God, I am already with my family and I am very happy. We are very pleased with what the Red Cross has done for us! If it weren't for you, we probably would still be there. Thank you very much!
***
- Hello Mrs. Nadia! The Bulgarian Red Cross gathered your family, found your children to be alive and healthy. How are you today? How do you feel ?
Nadia Namat Bashar : First of all, I would like to thank you very much! May God give you health for what you have done for us! Well, what can I tell you .... At first we cried so much ... We just couldn't believe it! We are so happy! What we feel is inexplicable joy! We couldn't believe we were together again! If my husband could be here with my middle son, and we could all be together, it would be great! They stayed in Syria ... Well ... let's hope to God that this will happen one day ...
"It will, of course!" To be safe and sound! I wish you from the bottom of my heart!
- We are very happy now that we are together! We are very grateful to you for what you did!
***
"And how are you feeling, my boy?" Are you okay here! You are far from the war! Do you feel calm now ?! Is it better for you here than in Harmanli?
Bashar Saadun, 14 : Of course! I am very happy, calm and happy, not only because I am far from the war, but mostly because I am here, next to my mother!

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