ERBIL, KRI, Iraq (North Press) – Zacharie Maheu still remembers his first meeting with his roommate, a Syrian national in the city of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).
The 28-year-old young Frenchman, Zacharie Maheu, said that I sat on the nearby chair, looked at him and smiled. He said: “Hello”.
“Then I saw him moving his hands left and right, introducing me to the house. After he finished, he said: I am Majed from Syria, Damascus, nice to meet you.”
Majed added, laughing: “I only uttered a word of thanks. In fact, I did not know otherwise.”
Maheu, who worked in a trading company, lived in Erbil with Majed several months, and then Anas, a young Syrian man from Aleppo joined them.
At the end of 2020, the French young man became with three Syrian youths, the last of whom was Firas, from the Syrian coast.
Since the beginning of the Syrian war, 2011, thousands of Syrians have taken refuge to neighboring countries, some of them heading to Europe.
During the refugee journey, they merged with the cultures and societies to which they arrived, passed on their culture and customs, becoming a cultural and social bridge between their country and other countries.
“Nice Vocabulary”
After six months, Maheu mastered the Syrian dialect excellently.
He expressed his admiration for the Syrian dialect saying that “It is charming, different from the rest of the dialects in Arab countries, and have a nice vocabulary for every daily movement you make.”
On a cold winter night in Erbil, Maheu caught a cold. He sneezed a lot. After each sneezing, Majed said “Health”, which Maheu found kindness.
Maheu said, “When you sneeze, my Iraqi friends say ‘thank God’, and we answer, ‘May God have mercy on you’.”
“I noticed that the word ‘God’ is included in many everyday sentences in various Arabic dialects except for Syria.”
The Frenchman noticed that the Syrians do not associate the word “God” with their daily activities, “This is what I liked the most, especially since I have visited Jordan recently. I asked someone what is your name? He replied: ‘Muhammad, God willing!’ That was really strange.”
He added that “They used the word ‘Hello’ to greet; instead of ‘Peace be with you’ which is used in the Gulf countries and Egypt.
Memories in Syria
Mélisande Genat, a young French woman, flipped her old photos in Syria, and then back to a photo she took in the city of Rasafa, north of Raqqa saying:
“How much I loved this city, I grieved by what happened to the cities of Syria after the war. I visited all its cities, drank from the water of Damascus, ate from the kitchen of Aleppo, and toured the desert.”
Genat lives in Erbil and works as a researcher in the Mesopotamia region.
She has lived with friends from Damascus and Hasakah for several years.
She said that she had previously heard about the Syrians’ interest in cleanliness. After living with them, she discovered that they are “first-class professionals, who can be categorized as the cleanest among all.”
“This is the truth,” she added while laughing.
Genat believes that “The Syrians are more open, exchange conversations, and express their opinion freely without religious restrictions.”
“These restrictions became apparent to me when I exchanged conversations with young men from Palestine and Jordan.”
Mornings of Erbil, Syria
The 35-year-old, Alex Smith came from Washington to Erbil. He understood a little Arabic, but from his Syrian friends he mastered it.
Smith used to live with a Syrian friend from Aleppo, but now he lives alone, after his friend traveled to Europe.
He said that “After my friend’s travel, the most things I missed are the smell of morning coffee, entering my bedroom as if it was a morning greeting.”
Smith laughs, adding: “I like the Syrians’ love for coffee. Now I am a coffee lover like them. They have calm morning weather, accompanied by the songs of Fairuz with a cup of coffee. This is what I missed when I traveled to Egypt.”
The American young man believes that the Syrians in Erbil have proven their worth in various fields, “I trust them, because they master their work, they do their best and work for long hours without complaining.”
“In my opinion, the Syrians carry this city on their shoulders. I see this clearly.”