Published : 27-11-2018
Palestinian refugee from Syria Firas Abdul Salam Abbas, called Abu AlAbd, has been taking advantage of human rights and cultural events held in Cyprus to make non-Palestinians familiar with the Palestinian cuisine.
Firas was last spotted on November 16, 2018 at an event celebrating the 20th anniversary of the founding of the KISA NGO and attended by the Cypriot Minister of Labor and other prominent figures along with representatives of 15 refugee communities.
A refugee who took part in the event lauded Firas’s participation, saying the latter has brought the name of Palestine to the forefront despite the mountainous journey he has gone through.
Firas is one among 345 Palestinians who fled Yarmouk Camp, in war-torn Syria, onboard a Europe-bound boat, trying to reach Italy. The migrant vessel was, however, intercepted by the Cypriot navy in September 2014.
Shortly after, the Cypriot government pressurized the migrants to apply for asylum after they were sent to a refugee camp near Nicosia. As a pressure tactic, the local authorities blocked the refugees’ access to foodstuff.
In response to the appeals launched by the refugees, the Palestinian community in Cyprus, headed by Fawzia Teym, provided daily portions of meat, vegetables, fruits and other much-needed items to the refugees. Palestinian refugee Firas Abbas volunteered to cook for all the refugees stranded in the camp. He was granted asylum in Cyprus sometime later.
Palestinian refugees trapped in Cyprus have frequently appealed to the Cypriot authorities to allow them to seek shelter somewhere else in Europe in the hunt for better job opportunities and in an attempt to reunite with their families.
Palestinian refugee from Syria Firas Abdul Salam Abbas, called Abu AlAbd, has been taking advantage of human rights and cultural events held in Cyprus to make non-Palestinians familiar with the Palestinian cuisine.
Firas was last spotted on November 16, 2018 at an event celebrating the 20th anniversary of the founding of the KISA NGO and attended by the Cypriot Minister of Labor and other prominent figures along with representatives of 15 refugee communities.
A refugee who took part in the event lauded Firas’s participation, saying the latter has brought the name of Palestine to the forefront despite the mountainous journey he has gone through.
Firas is one among 345 Palestinians who fled Yarmouk Camp, in war-torn Syria, onboard a Europe-bound boat, trying to reach Italy. The migrant vessel was, however, intercepted by the Cypriot navy in September 2014.
Shortly after, the Cypriot government pressurized the migrants to apply for asylum after they were sent to a refugee camp near Nicosia. As a pressure tactic, the local authorities blocked the refugees’ access to foodstuff.
In response to the appeals launched by the refugees, the Palestinian community in Cyprus, headed by Fawzia Teym, provided daily portions of meat, vegetables, fruits and other much-needed items to the refugees. Palestinian refugee Firas Abbas volunteered to cook for all the refugees stranded in the camp. He was granted asylum in Cyprus sometime later.
Palestinian refugees trapped in Cyprus have frequently appealed to the Cypriot authorities to allow them to seek shelter somewhere else in Europe in the hunt for better job opportunities and in an attempt to reunite with their families.
