Job offers pouring in for Syrian businessman turned refugee paper collector in Turkey

ISTANBUL

Job offers have been pouring in for a Syrian businessman, who speaks five languages and now collects paper on the streets of Istanbul after fleeing his war-torn home country, since reports of his situation emerged in the media. Nadir İbrahim, 44, started receiving job offers from all over Turkey, Anadolu Agency reported on May 13.

“I didn’t expect such high attention. May God please them; I’ve received many job offers,” said İbrahim, adding he has already been to a job interview. 

“They called me from a cosmetics company. I’ve had my first interview with them because I promised. It went very positively. I will send them my CV. They called me for a second interview. A construction company from [the Mediterranean resort of] Antalya called me and wanted me to go there and start working. A company in [Istanbul’s] Kurtköy will send a car and pick me up. A job owner in [Istanbul’s] Eminönü called me and told me that I should work with them,” he added. 



A speaker of French, English, Italian and Turkish as well as his native Arabic, İbrahim’s story reached many job owners, who promised to provide him with a job and a house that he can live in with his family, who are currently living in Lebanon due to the misfortunes İbrahim has gone through in Turkey. 

“When I first arrived, a friend of mine introduced me to a Turkish friend and we set up a partnership with him. We went to a hotel in [the northwestern province of] Edirne to set up a business. He left me there, took all my money and ran away. My wife and children went to Lebanon after I lost my money here,” İbrahim told Anadolu Agency, adding he arrived in Turkey with his family at the end of 2012. 



İbrahim stressed that he was deeply affected by the stressful misfortunes he has gone through. 

“I can’t think properly under this stress. What I went through deeply affected me. I’m not very relaxed. I’ve been in Turkey for approximately four years. Turkey is like my homeland Syria. The people are helping me a lot. We are like a family. It makes me sad to go away from them to get a job. But I need to use the languages I speak or else I’m forgetting [them]. I’ve never spoken them for almost four years,” said İbrahim, adding he was surprised by the offers.