A refugee’s journey: The story behind the face


  • English
  • Arabic

In this week's Global Talk podcast we talk to Zaid Khalid Mahmood, a 26-year-old from the Iraqi city of Mosul who was recently featured on the controversial Hot Migrants Instagram account.
The account, which has since been deleted from Instagram, posted photos of young, male refugees it deemed handsome, taken as they made their way from war-zones to western Europe.
But these photos revealed little about the people featured, what they had endured on their journeys to Europe and the lives they left behind.
Zaid, whose city was captured by ISIL in June 2014, is now living in a refugee camp in Belgium. He shared his story with The National.
UPDATE: A day after this podcast was published Zaid received the news that he had been granted asylum by Belgium. This means he is now officially recognised as a refugee and can remain in the country on a permanent basis.
Read our story on the Hot Migrants account here.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Analysis

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INFO

What: DP World Tour Championship
When: November 21-24
Where: Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae.

PROFILE OF HALAN

Started: November 2017

Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport and logistics

Size: 150 employees

Investment: approximately $8 million

Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar

While you're here
The specs

Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8

Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm

Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km

Price: Dh380,000

On sale: now