In memoriam of Esam 

Esam was born on 2 April 1991 in Der Ezzor, Syria, where he studied civil engineering. At a young age, he was forced to move to Turkey together with his family because of the war.

After several months in Turkey, he decided to seek a better life in Europe, so he traveled to Greece. In Greece, things weren’t good for a young boy full of dreams and hopes, so he left and, through Albania, eventually reached Kosovo. 

I had the chance to meet Esam during the asylum process in Magure camp, where JRS offers various services. His English was fluent and, on several occasions, he served as a translator for other asylum seekers in the camp. I remember that even at a very young age he was kind and attentive to everyone he met. You could never notice the difficulties he had been through; he was never using them to victimize himself.  

His process was successful, and he was soon granted asylum in Kosovo, perhaps because of the fact that he was convinced that his future was going to be exactly here and that he reflected it in every conversation you could have with him.  

During his time in Prishtina, Esam attended various activities and meetings, and he was tirelessly looking for possibilities to attend training, workshops, and other capacity-building activities. He learned a lot of Albanian words during the course he attended at the JRS office. But despite his efforts, I could sometimes see that he was struggling between his dreams and the reality of Kosovo, which is an inadequate one for a young man.  

On 11 March 2022, Esam went away without a farewell. He did not get a chance to say goodbye because of a car accident that happened when he was crossing a road. His absence makes our hearts ache. He had gone too soon!  

Faithful companionship, friendship, support, kindness, and an intelligence unrivaled by many I know… that was Esam. Though he is gone now, we know that on some sweet day, we will see him again and tell him how blessed we were to have him as our friend. 

Until we meet again.