Ali from Syria: “In Bulgaria, every person has the potential to create new, good things”

Meet Ali Samar, who decides to change his life and moves to Bulgaria in search of new opportunities.

The topic of migrants is widely discussed, but often misinterpreted. In an attempt to change that, we will share a few stories about third-country nationals with the right to work in our country, who, contrary to popular belief, are successfully integrated into the Bulgarian labor market and contribute to the development of the country’s economy.

Our series is part of the MIraGE project, on which WCIF is working with partners from several European countries. The project aims to ease the access and integration of third-country nationals who seek employment in the host countries of the European Union.

Meet Ali Samar from Syria, who decides to change his life and comes to Bulgaria in search of new opportunities.

Ali settled down in Bulgaria in October 2009 with the idea to ​​continue his education. He chose Bulgaria, because he has relatives who live here.

“In Bulgaria, everyone has the potential to create new, good things and at the same time to achieve a high standard of life, without restrictions.” – said Ali.

Even though he had the support from his relatives here, he had experienced difficulties with the language and often felt uncompetitive in the workplace. After a period of adaptation, he applied for a job opportunity at international company with an office in Sofia, but even after successfully conducting several stages of the interview, he didn’t receive the position, because of the company’s policy and the fact that he is Syrian. Today, Ali is successfully developing in the team of an Irish company and is happy to work with people who do not tolerate discrimination and racism.

With the time he got acquainted with the Bulgarian culture and traditions, but his big interest is directed to the Bulgarian theater.

“I have attended almost all theatrical productions. The first one I watched was in the Satirical theater. Since then, I collect the ticket from each performance. I just got enchanted with the atmosphere.“

Ali chooses to stay here, despite all the challenges. We decided to end up this article with the rhetorical question and open end… “Are there some obstacles to accept Ali as part of our society?”

The MIraGe project is a three-year project co-financed by the European Union (EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund), implemented by 12 partner organizations from 8 European countries (Bulgaria, Sweden, Italy, France, Austria, Cyprus, Romania, Hungary).