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16:10 09.03.2017(updated 16:14 09.03.2017) Get short URL

"When I came toEurope I had lost everything, I had gone fromworking ina Five Star hotel inDamascus, the capital ofSyria, totraveling formonths onend toreach safety inGreece," Mohammad told Sputnik.

Mohammad Al-Masri is a refugee fromSyria; he left Damascus and traveled toTurkey in2015 alongwith millions ofothers, ashe manged tosurvive the perilous journey bysea toGreece. He then ended uptraveling toa small village inthe Netherlands called Ter Apel, fromthere he went onto Amsterdam.

Recalling the time inSyria when he watched the Egyptian movie Hammam inAmsterdam, Mohammed felt likehe knew the city even beforehe arrived.

"After watching that film, I felt likeI knew the place already. It was home tome," Mohammad told Sputnik.

It was atthis stage that he made contact withartists and entrepreneur Teun Castelein, founder ofRederij Lampedusaboat tours. Mr. Castelein had the idea ofbringing awareness tothe plight ofrefugees and decided torun boat tours withrefugees asthe guides, asit was the easiest way tomake a statement and tobring awareness tothe issue ofimmigration.

The result was the resurrection oftwo boats, namedHedir and Meneer Vrijdag, once used totransport refugees toEurope fromTurkey.

"We have all read inthe media aboutrefugees, they were painted ina dark light, however I saw it asa huge humanitarian issue and I felt I had todo something; it had a very personal agenda. I have an entrepreneurial spirit and that is how the idea came about," Mr. Castelein told Sputnik.

The tour group will run daily cruises fromApril, each lasting one hour and costing US$20 per person. They will take passengers throughthe city's world-famous waterways.

Mr. Castelien hopes that the boat tours will bring tothe forefront the plight ofrefugees and migrants inEurope, inwhat he considers a bold statement aswell asan artistic outlet.

"If you put one ofthese boats ontothe canal, what will happen practically withyour audience? The easiest way tomake a statement is toput it inyour face," he said.

Mr. Castelein and Mohammad are now friends, united bya common cause and spurred onwith the aim ofachieving a better tomorrow.

"We are all friends so, we do not want tomake them [refugees] outto be victims likethe rest ofthe media. The boats are a symbol ofbeauty. The history ofour city has been one ofmigration, great philosophers, writers and artists have all been immigrants," Mr. Castelein told Sputnik.

For Mohammad this journey is more thana boat tour, it's aboutraising awareness and being inclusive.

"I hope that people living and visiting the city will see that it is all aboutinclusion and that it is far better tohave an inclusive society then one which aims toexclude," Mohammad told Sputnik.

These boat tours are just the start ofMohammad's new life, he has dreams ofone day owning his own hotel, a social enterprise project which will allow every person staying todo so forfree.

Link:
Dutch Boat Tours With Refugee Guides Put a Human Face on Europe's Migrant Crisis - Sputnik International