“Everything I know about integration I learned from my mother. She’s Turkish, but lived for 40 years in Syria. She merged completely into Syrian society. When I came to Turkey because of the war, I took inspiration from her. I rented a house in a Turkish neighborhood where we were the first foreign family. I worked hard to integrate with our neighbors. And it paid off. As more refugees arrived, our family became a bridge between the two populations.”

Fahima Ali, NGO Worker

“Fahima’s story reminded me of how a Turkish professor showed me what it means to help people integrate into a new society. After I came here I had to improve my Turkish to be able to study, but I didn’t want to lose a whole year doing language courses. Professor Hasan offered his help and tutored me and another student in Turkish. Now I’m studying engineering at the university. It’s because of him that I’ve started to help Syrians – not just to study in Turkish universities, but to engage in Turkish society, too.”

Mohammed Ali, Student, Department of Engineering