Callum Sutherland talks to the Hammoud family, as they celebrate British citizenship and the home they have found in Dorset
All Images: Ammar Hammoud
Do you know which British scientist won the Nobel Peace Prize for discovering the structure of a DNA molecule? Or how many national parks there are in Great Britain?
When you apply to become a British citizen, you need to know the answers to these questions and many more.
For Ammar and Samar Hammoud, this was the British trivia they studied tirelessly when they took citizenship tests last year. After passing – alongside English writing and speaking exams – they, with their children Malak, Massa and Ahmad, became British citizens at a ceremony in May.
The family fled Syria in 2013 during the country’s civil war.
‘We had to get out of our hometown,’ Ammar says. ‘It was besieged, we had no choice … A lot of our friends died. We suffered a lot and we had an open road only to Lebanon.
‘Our trip was terrifying and exhausting – we were bombed on the road. It was winter and we couldn’t take any [of] our clothes with us, there was no time. We were on a bus and the bombing hit the bus, a lot with us on the road died because of that barbaric attack.’
Four years later, the family came to Dorset as refugees with help from the United Nations resettlement programme. Samar says: ‘The UN said we could go to the US, France or Britain. I don’t know why I chose here, I just had a feeling inside that I feel very comfortable coming here.’
The family was originally told they would be moving to Devon, but were directed to Shaftesbury once they arrived.
‘At the citizenship ceremony, I was so proud to have my family with me,’ says Ammar. ‘It was a very special day. After, we went to eat fish and chips! That day will forever stay in my mind.’
This cherished achievement is something that the Hammoud family has been working hard for since arriving in Shaftesbury in 2017. Ammar describes how difficult the journey to citizenship has been.
‘Before, it was like I was going up, up, up the hill. Now I can sit down and take some rest. It was hard, everything was hard. It’s been difficult – when I came here I didn’t know anyone, I was anxious and worried all the time.’
Shaftesbury Refugee Group
In the face of these difficulties, a local charity has been on hand to help since the Hammouds first arrived. The Shaftesbury Refugee Group was set up in 2017 by local residents unhappy with the treatment of Syrian refugees and the lack of local support for them. They have since been supporting Syrians and, more recently, Ukrainians in the area, with whatever they need. The group has been crucial to the arriving families – including, of course, the Hammouds.
‘When I first came to the UK I couldn’t open my suitcase for a month because I wanted to leave,’ says Samar. ‘It wasn’t England. It was just that I wasn’t home. But the volunteers came and sat with us, spoke with us, made us less frightened. That meant that one day I could open my bag. The Shaftesbury Refugee Group was like a bridge that made it possible for us to live here. They provided all the support. Even when I was in hospital to give birth, it was like having my mother with me. It feels like they are our family, not volunteers.’
‘I have this family, the refugee group,’ Ammar adds. ’Now I feel safe. If I have any problem, I know what to do.’
Volunteers and trustees with the charity have continuously supported the family – anything from help studying for the citizenship exams to booking an appointment with a GP. The charity’s information officer Stuart Twiss has supported the family with legal matters, accountancy and simply as a friend to hear their problems. Samar says: ‘Every year he helps us with accounting, because we don’t know the law, everything has been new.’
And it was vice chair Roz Hanby who initially encouraged the couple to share their Syrian cooking with Shaftesbury. Now, the family runs Hammoud’s Kitchen, a catering service for the local area. Samar says: ‘I didn’t think people would like to taste the food I make but she said we should just try.’
Their business has flourished, selling at the weekly Shaftesbury market and regularly catering for local events. Most recently, Hammoud’s Kitchen featured at the Motcombe Music Festival, selling out rather quickly!
Ammar says: ‘I really like to share my food and my culture, it has made me friends here. People like the baba ganoush, falafel, shawarma and my broad bean salad.’
A future in Shaftesbury
Over the last seven years, the Hammouds have found that, despite leaving everything they knew and owned behind, Shaftesbury has now become home for them.
‘Shaftesbury people are amazing, very helpful and always smiling,’ Ammar says. ‘I haven’t felt like a refugee here. If anyone asks “where are you from?” I always say Shaftesbury.’
While Shaftesbury has become a perfect place for the Hammoud family to settle, leaving Syria has still been extremely difficult. After 13 years of civil war, their hometown is almost unrecognisable.
While talking about home, Ammar goes through photos on his phone of fruit that used to grow on his family’s farm. Looking through pictures of cherry trees, glowing white raspberries and brilliant yellow pears, he marvels at how juicy and sweet these fruits were. The produce found at Dorset’s supermarkets simply cannot compare, apparently!
For Ammar, though, his family’s future is firmly in Dorset – he believes he will never return to live in Syria: ‘If I can go back, I will, but just to sell my land, then come back and buy a house in Shaftesbury.
‘My life in Syria is gone. My friends, father and mother are dead. I don’t have anything there. They killed me when they bombed my house, killed my friends. Even if I am here, my heart is dead. I cannot go back to Syria.’
The painful reality of life back in Syria, compared with the warmth that has greeted them in Dorset, means that Ammar and Samar only see Shaftesbury as their future home.
‘It’s been difficult for the children,’ says Samar. ‘A new language, new friends, new culture. For months when Massa heard a plane, she would hide under the table. Now we just try to support our children and their future.’
North Dorset is now where their children have spent majority of their childhood. All three enjoy Taekwondo, and five-year-old Ahmad says he wants to learn French. Malak, who is just starting her GCSEs, recently received the highest possible award at school for her attitude and grades.
Looking forward, aspirations are high. Malak wants to be either a lawyer or doctor, Ahmad aims to be a policeman and Massa likes the idea of being a teacher. Their parents say that if the children go to university, they would like to move as a family.
‘But when they finish we would come back to Shaftesbury,’ Ammar says. ‘If I leave for maybe a week, I miss it here!’
‘The children feel very confident now, thanks to the support they get,’ says Samar. ‘We are very proud, especially for them – they have good education and a bright future.’
