16 people attended ‘A Conversation with Hilal Al Shareef’ on Wednesday 23rd June. Hilal was interviewed on Zoom by Rev Phil Simpson, our Chair. Hilal started by explaining that he was studying to become a teacher at the University of Aleppo when war broke out in 2011. He spent 5 days in prison where he was forced to sign documents saying that he wouldn’t do or say anything against the government. Upon being released, he knew it wasn’t safe to stay in Syria, so he left his pregnant wife and went to Lebanon. His wife and 9 month old daughter joined him shortly afterwards. However, the last time he saw his extended family was in 2012. He came to Woking in 2016 where he has received a warm welcome, even though he spoke no English. He has since learnt the language and completed his studies. He now helps other Syrian families settle as he believe that is important as he was helped when he arrived. He was born into the Muslim faith and his parents taught him God will always be with him in difficult times.
A recording of the event can be found here
Hilal was recently featured in a video produced by WBC for Refugee Week about the Syrian Refugee program which can be watched via this LINK.
Faith In Action ... A Conversation With ... is a series of conversations with real people. These are interfaith conversations run by WPoF where individuals talk about their own faith and how it works out in practice in their everyday lives. Keep an eye on our Facebook page and our website for the next in our series.
WPoF is supported by Woking Borough Council
Date: Wednesday 23rd June 2021
Location: Zoom
Time: 7.00pm