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Syrian farmer grows a new life in Iraq

Muhammad walks from the tomato to the cucumber plants. Stopping, he smiles. "It is ripe," he says, picking a cucumber. He continues picking, satisfied with the fruits of his labor.

Muhammad is far from his farm in Syria, but in the Gawilan camp in Iraqi Kurdistan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have built four greenhouses in which many refugees work daily. In the coming weeks, Action Against Hunger will take over the premises and build new greenhouses, building on the work of the project funded by a partnership between UNDP and UNHCR.

Muhammad left his farm in the outskirts of Damascus five years ago.

"I lived near Ghouta. Shortly after the conflict began, there was shelling and fighting," he said. "The rockets didn’t stop falling for two whole days. We were lucky, if the shells fell on the left, we were on the right; if they fell on the right, we were on the left."

With their last savings, Muhammad and his family departed Turkey for Iraqi Kurdistan, arriving at the Ibrahim Khalil border post.

"I will never forget that moment. They smiled at us, they welcomed us. I had the feeling that the war was over," he said. The life of refugees does not stop, however, with that, and soon they were sent to the Gawilan camp. "We’ve been living here for 18 months, I feel much better. I’m lucky. Every morning I come to the greenhouse, I work, I can eat fresh fruit and vegetables and use the salary they create to support my family."

Read the full story at Action Against Hunger
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