Mahdi left 4 years ago as a boat refugee in Egypt, and dobberde 20 days at sea. Now he is physiotherapist of the promises of OHL

Leuven Mahdi Mohamed Alfarra (34) is physiotherapist of the promises of OH Leuven, and he also keeps the players from eersteprovincialer VC Bertem-Leefdaal fit. He lives today in Kessel-Lo with his wife, Haneen, and eight-month-old daughter Mallak. Four and a half years ago, this was life is a distant dream. When he left as a political refugee of Palestinian origin with the boat out of the Egyptian Alexandria to Italy, in search of a better life. After twenty days they were by the Italian coast guard, from the wild sea met.

He laid his secondary education in Gaza, in Egypt, he went to Misr University for Science and Technology in Madīnat Sittah Uktūbar study and he graduated as a physiotherapist.

“In Egypt I could in the futsal competition for the first time come true for my country, Palestine. It was a competition with all the embassies in the country, and Egypt itself, we played, for instance, against Sweden and Germany. In this competition, we won the semi-finals and we were up 2-1 off by Egypt, it was a nice experience. After 2007 came to Gaza under control of Hamas, they do not give to their people. I if the country is not more in by my Palestinian nationality, but also in other Arab countries, I was not welcome. I was only in Egypt and my wife was only in Gaza. I decided to take in June 2016 in Alexandria the boat to Europe as political refugee. We sat with many people in a boat, and we knew not whither we went. We followed the course of one man but did not know which direction we went out, of course, began the hunger to gnaw and the Mediterranean was at times very wild. A friend of me that diabetes had experienced very difficult days. Happy took the coast guard of us on dry land. Then we travelled from Rome to Nice, to Paris and finally Brussels. By the Famlily Reunion Visa could my wife to here it happened to and since april last year, we have a sweet daughter, Mallak, that means angel. I lived for a while in Wallonia and four months in Ghent, I now live for a year, Kessel-Lo,” says Alfarra.

“I got at OHL a contract on the basis of article 60 of the social WELFARE office, I took this opportunity with both hands. I have daily contact with the players and set their program on. When OHL is the game, of course, of a higher level. In Bertem-Leefdaal I came past summer and I am one day per week in the back. That is a real familieclub. All the people at both clubs were very friendly, they viewed not as the first of the best foreign, I felt immediately very welcome. I hope my contract can extend experience and ideas. I have the ambition to long for them to work and them to thank for a refugee work, I got my first chance from them. I am glad that I have work gifts and I was given the opportunity to try again from scratch. It is a dream that became reality, hopefully I can make it that experience.”