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The clock had passed midnight on that September night 2015. After a long flight from Palestine, Inam Alghoul set his foot in Vänersborg for the first time.

– I came alone with my two boys, then they were two and four years old. I was tired and scared. I didn’t know what would happen, that feeling you always have when you’re on the run. You do not know what will happen from one minute to the next.

 

At Restad Gård Inam and her boys were received by staff from the Swedish Migration Board but also from people from the Support group network – a group at Restad Gård that was formed by other asylum seekers and Swedes to help receive new arrivals.

– I remember the feeling. It was such a relief to meet people who spoke my language and who looked like me. They helped us to the rooms and I felt so much calmer. That meeting meant a lot.

The next day, Inam decided that she wanted to join the group.

– I wanted to give back. Give the feeling I and my boys had to everyone else who would come.

 

“If you strengthen women, you strengthen children”

The step of supporting and helping newly arrived women felt natural.
– I’m a woman myself, I’m a single mom. I know what it’s like to feel weak. I want to give all women the opportunity for a better life. If you strengthen the women, you also strengthen the children and the whole family. They are the key to a better society. It is for everyone’s best.

Inam started the group “Strong women’s network” with the aim of bringing together newly arrived women with women born in Sweden. The group discussed big and small things in society, different cultures meet and experiences are exchanged.

– There are so many nationalities and the youngest girl is 17 years and the oldest woman is 79 years. It’s awesome.

The fact that Inam is one of three finalists for TTELA’s integration prize strengthens her work.

– It shows that we are making a difference and I hope it can motivate these women even more. That they should continue to fight for their future and never give up.

Inam Alghoul himself will continue anyway.

– I dream that no woman should feel weak, that no one should feel alone, that all women should have the same rights, that no woman should be subjected to violence and that all women should be happy and satisfied.

Ttela


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