When Hanin is only seven years old, she leaves Syria with her family because they can no longer guarantee the safety of her father. “My dad had problems with the government. He has been arrested and assaulted a few times,” the 18-year-old explains.
The Al Kadamani family flees to Venezuela, but the situation there too is becoming increasingly troubled and when Hanin’s brother needs medical attention due to heart problems, the best option is to go back to Syria – where war still rages. When it turns out that her brother cannot be helped in their native country either, they travel to the Netherlands, where the family has now been living in uncertainty for four years because they do not have the correct papers.
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What makes the situation so difficult is that Hanin and her family need documents from Venezuela, but are not getting them. Her last hope now is that someone in the Netherlands has connections that can help. “We are trying to get proof, but this is very difficult,” said Hanin.
“We tried it through lawyers, through the embassy, but it doesn’t work. The IND sees it as a solution, but for us it is very difficult (…) It would be fantastic if the whole of the Netherlands could think about who has connections. in Venezuela so that those papers are put on the table. That would help enormously. Then there is a solution. “
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Without the correct papers, there is a good chance that Hanin’s family, who currently resides in Ter Apel, will end up on the street because the government is not clear to which country they should return. With the first rejection, the IND only said that the family had to go back, but not where to go. Going back to Syria is not an option because it is war there. Venezuela is also not feasible, because they – again – do not have the right papers for that. “We can’t stay, but we can’t leave either. That’s really very sensitive.”
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