Refugees fleeing Syria to UK: 'I've got a mortgage, a house, a car - we're not trouble' By Pritti Mistry and Dan Wainwright BBC News More than 17,000 refugees who fled the Syrian war have settled in Britain over the past five years. Of those, many have had to "work hard" in overcoming cultural changes as they try to forge a new life for themselves. Another 3,000 refugees are expected to arrive by the end of 2020 under the government's Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS). Three displaced refugees recall their experiences of integrating and nestling into British society to the BBC.'Eat fish on Fridays' Fleeing a war-torn country once is bad enough, but to experience it a second time round was even more traumatic for 37-year-old Ghani. The Kuwaiti-born barber escaped conflict in his native country, with his family, and had to start over again in Syria. But resettling was a struggle, he said, having encountered a spell of homelessness. The stress resulted in his father dying from a heart attack. Then years later, in 2011, it happened all over again. "We worked hard to build a new life in Syria. It was a difficult and hard situation. I had my own barbershop, then war started again in Syria. "It was fire everywhere." Ghani fled to Lebanon with his mum and three sisters, one of whom has severe learning disabilities, and lived there for three years before uprooting to Huddersfield in 2016. "I feel 19 July 2016 was like my new birthday. I had a new life. "I don't care what people say about Huddersfield, it's safe and I feel at home." Ghani, who has dreams of opening a "barber academy", said the community felt "like a big family" and had helped him to learn English, get a job and integrate into society. "It was a culture shock. We knew nothing, everything was different - language, how we talk, body language. "But people in Huddersfield are really lovely and friendly. They helped me a lot to learn about British culture, like eating fish every Friday." Despite remaining "open-minded and positive" about a future in teaching, Ghani said he still experienced "flashbacks of the war from when I was in Kuwait". "I have that little boy inside me who's shouting and crying because we lost everything. "I see blood everywhere."Bully 'called me a terrorist' Unlike Ghani, 17-year-old Esther had a rather more sombre experience of integrating into British culture. The teenager fled Syria in September 2014 and moved to Lebanon with her family. Being displaced in a neighbouring country was "very challenging and very hard", she said. "We didn't see a future at all in Syria and Lebanon. "In Lebanon it was worse because we wasn't treated nicely. We experienced racism because there was a lot of refugees, people weren't nice." A year later, Esther made the long journey to Hull with her mother, father and two sisters. She said adjusting to UK life was a daunting experience. "Hull is a beautiful place. I'm very happy here but of course it was a little bit ch
'I've got a mortgage, a house, a car - we're not trouble'
Refugees fleeing Syria to UK: 'I've got a mortgage, a house, a car - we're not trouble' By Pritti Mistry and Dan Wainwright BBC News More than 17,000 refugees who fled the Syrian war have settled in Britain over the past five years. Of those, many have had to "work hard" in overcoming cultural changes as they try to forge a new life for themselves. Another 3,000 refugees are expected to arrive by the end of 2020 under the government's Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS). Three displaced refugees recall their experiences of integrating and nestling into British society to the BBC.'Eat fish on Fridays' Fleeing a war-torn country once is bad enough, but to experience it a second time round was even more traumatic for 37-year-old Ghani. The Kuwaiti-born barber escaped conflict in his native country, with his family, and had to start over again in Syria. But resettling was a struggle, he said, having encountered a spell of homelessness. The stress resulted in his father dying from a heart attack. Then years later, in 2011, it happened all over again. "We worked hard to build a new life in Syria. It was a difficult and hard situation. I had my own barbershop, then war started again in Syria. "It was fire everywhere." Ghani fled to Lebanon with his mum and three sisters, one of whom has severe learning disabilities, and lived there for three years before uprooting to Huddersfield in 2016. "I feel 19 July 2016 was like my new birthday. I had a new life. "I don't care what people say about Huddersfield, it's safe and I feel at home." Ghani, who has dreams of opening a "barber academy", said the community felt "like a big family" and had helped him to learn English, get a job and integrate into society. "It was a culture shock. We knew nothing, everything was different - language, how we talk, body language. "But people in Huddersfield are really lovely and friendly. They helped me a lot to learn about British culture, like eating fish every Friday." Despite remaining "open-minded and positive" about a future in teaching, Ghani said he still experienced "flashbacks of the war from when I was in Kuwait". "I have that little boy inside me who's shouting and crying because we lost everything. "I see blood everywhere."Bully 'called me a terrorist' Unlike Ghani, 17-year-old Esther had a rather more sombre experience of integrating into British culture. The teenager fled Syria in September 2014 and moved to Lebanon with her family. Being displaced in a neighbouring country was "very challenging and very hard", she said. "We didn't see a future at all in Syria and Lebanon. "In Lebanon it was worse because we wasn't treated nicely. We experienced racism because there was a lot of refugees, people weren't nice." A year later, Esther made the long journey to Hull with her mother, father and two sisters. She said adjusting to UK life was a daunting experience. "Hull is a beautiful place. I'm very happy here but of course it was a little bit ch
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