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United Kingdom. Judith McCann, a community nurse, lives with her daughter, Connie, 27, a teacher, and *Shannan (not his real name), 20, a refugee from Aleppo, Syria. This portrait is part of Great British Welcome, the UK chapter of the ongoing No Stranger

Judith McCann is a community nurse who lives with her daughter, Connie, 27, a teacher, and *Shannan (not his real name), 20, from Aleppo, Syria. Shannan moved in August 2016 and works at a Lebanese restaurant in the evenings. “People are all curious about him but he is like any 20-year old. He likes clothes, eats rubbish, sleeps all day and works in the evening,” Judith says.

Other Stories
  • Susanne (52) and Stefan (47) host Fady (35), a Christian refugee from Egypt, in Nikolassee, Germany. When their children moved out, Susanne and Stefan decided they wanted to help by giving one of the spare rooms to a refugee, but didn't know how to go about it. Then they received a newsletter from their local church, which was trying to find families in the area to host newly arrived refugees. Through the church they met Fady, a Christian refugee from Egypt who'd fled religious persecution. They got along well and he moved in with them in August 2015. While he waited for his papers to arrive, he couldn't work, so he used the time to learn German, which he now speaks very well. And it's already paying dividends. In March he starts work as a coach and supervisor to Arabic-speaking refugees at a school for professional development in Berlin. And he's also on the verge of moving into his own home, a small flat Susanne and Stefan own in Reinickendorf and that luckily, their previous tenant has just moved out of. When Susanne and Stefan's children were still small their landlord decided to sell the building that houses their apartment, so Stefan and Susanne found four likeminded families, also with young children, to club together and buy it. Today, the same four families still live there, providing a stable community in which Fady was quickly integrated. But at first, Stefan says, “people where a little surprised that we would give our keys to a stranger.” Although he didn't like the city at first, Fady says “I love Berlin now”. Now he has friends and knows the city, he appreciates how multicultural it is. Although this was initially difficult for him, due to his negative experiences in Egypt, he now counts many Muslims amongst his friends. Fady has also found a home in the congregation of the local Syrian Orthodox church and is an active member of the recently founded “Begegnungschor”, a choir in which locals and refugees learn and perform songs from
  • Austria. Sabine David, husband Dominique and daughter Nora, 1, host Afghan refugee Nooria Youldash and her 2-year-old daughter, Aysu, in Lavanttal.
  • United Kingdom. Ingrid Van Loo Plowman and her son Ross host three refugees in their home in Epsom: Isak, 18, from Ethiopia, 19-year-old Abdul, from Syria and a 31-year-old engineer from the Middle East who declined to be identified for security reasons. Photo: Aubrey Wade / UNHCR
  • Sabine Waldner with her daughters, Charlotte and Miriam, host two Syrian refugees, Juan (16) and Mohammed (16), classmates from Damascus, at their home in Falkensee, Germany. This portrait is part of the No Stranger Place series, which portrays locals and
  • Sweden. Single mother and librarian, Linnea Tell, hosts Syrian gay Muslim artist, Alqumit Alhamad, who is now thriving in Malmö.
  • United Kingdom. Emily, a social worker from Australia, lives in London with her partner, Gijs from the Netherlands, and Areej, a refugee from Sudan. Photo: Aubrey Wade / UNHCR
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