Fadi: The email that changed my life
Above: Fadi as an expert panelist at a UNHCR fundraising event in Sydney, Australia, 2019.
As we mark World Refugee Day, I truly believe this is the biggest, most important event in recent years. The challenge faced today is the hardest.
It’s not a tyrant with tanks and missiles, nor is it a snow blizzard tearing makeshift tents that were supposed to be temporary… five years ago. It’s not a reluctant host country where the public has a growing resentment towards displaced people who allegedly are eating their food, taking their jobs and polluting their rivers. This year, it is all the above with the addition of a global pandemic and whispers of a financial depression like no other which is about to hit over 60 million refugees around the world.
As I write this article from the heart of Sydney, after my daily 5k run in Centennial Park, it’s hard to believe that 18 months ago, I was on the other side of this conversation, waiting for someone to lend me a helping hand.
My journey with Talent Beyond Boundaries started four years ago, when what looked like just another email sent in desperation to a random NGO, turned out to be most life-changing event of my life. From the very first meeting, I could tell that TBB was different. They didn’t ask me the standard questions such as: “Are you in need of medical assistance?” or “Do you have a place to stay?” or “Do you need legal assistance?”. Instead, they asked me what I could do.
Don’t get me wrong, all of the above are valid questions and I am certain lots of refugees found them helpful - but for me, and many other displaced people - we want something more. We want a chance to start a new chapter in our lives; a chance to keep our dignity, be productive and have a wholesome life. Something, only TBB could offer me.
Throughout history, many aspects of the refugee crisis have changed and evolved. It went from being Belgian refugees in WW1, to Syrian refugees in the last decade. However, one thing never changed, and that is how refugees are looked at: as a liability; a problem to be fixed.
What TBB does is flip that perspective and look at refugees and stateless people such as myself as an asset! This is a pioneering breakthrough, and I believe the effects will become more prominent as time goes by.
My personal experience with TBB will always be extra special. I was a tough, complicated case from the start. All I had in my possession was a baptism paper and a college ID that had the name “Fadi X” on it. They could have taken the easy way out and rejected my application and no one would have blamed them - including me. After all, they wouldn’t have been the first NGO or international aid organization to look at me and deem my case hopeless. Instead, they looked at my situation as a challenge and made it their priority to help, with a ‘no man gets left behind’ attitude that you only see in Hollywood movies!
Since the day my application was in their system, I was showered with a barrage of services, support, and a positive, uplifting attitude that reflects TBB’s passion to make a difference in this world. I have never seen a more committed group of individuals, working together across multiple time zones and locations for one united cause.
The Lebanese staff, led by the charismatic Noura, had a dedication that knew no schedule or limits of any kind. Often I would come into the TBB office early - because I used to be a bit nervous before an actual interview - and they would be there waiting for me at 7:00AM, even allowing me to use their own mobile data in case the office WIFI was not good enough or there was the slightest chance it might disconnect.
The Australian crew was equally amazing. It’s hard to explain how you can feel so relieved and at home with people you haven’t even met before. I remember a time when a group of the Australian staff, led by John and Steph, flew to Lebanon to meet with candidates and even made a visit to the Australian ambassador to advocate for me and plead my case.
When I landed in Sydney, there was a group of 15 people waiting for me. I remember asking them, “how would you thank the people who saved your life?”. 18 months later and I am still not sure how to answer that; how to repay TBB for saving my life from the black hole that was statelessness.
“The foreigners residing among you must be treated as native-born. Love them as yourself”- Leviticus 19:34