HOME IN PORTUGAL (part 1): Two brothers and their families share stories of leaving war-torn Syria

HOME IN PORTUGAL (part 1): Two brothers and their families share powerful stories of leaving war-torn Syria

Note: This is the first in a three-day series of videos featuring Fuller Center homeowner partner families in Braga, Portugal. They will soon be living with other families in a six-unit complex — including two other refugee families from the Democratic Republic of Congo (part 2, Wednesday) and the Democratic Republic of Cameroon (part 3, Thursday).

Mustafa Shlash and Hasan Shlash are brothers from Aleppo, Syria, who were living comfortable lives with their wives and families in Aleppo, Syria, before war not only came to their home but obliterated much of it.

They fled the violence, at times becoming separated from their families along the way. Their long and winding roads eventually brought them to Portugal, where they have established roots and found a brighter future for their children.

“My children have a future here,” a grateful Hasan says. “I wish that the war ends and that the situation in Syria improves for the children that are there.”

Part of that future will be having a safe home, thanks to The Fuller Center for Housing’s partners in Braga. Fuller Center Global Builders volunteers who have been helping renovate a building into a six-unit housing complex have gotten to know these families well and are excited to see them thrive well into the future.

This is their story (enable closed-captioning):