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Mahmoud left Syria to pursue his dream of competing in badminton on the biggest stage in the world — a dream that is set to come true in Tokyo this summer.
The 23-year-old left Damascus in search of new opportunities, and with it, he left everything behind.
“Leaving… my family, my friends, my homeland. This was the most difficult thing,” said Mahmoud.
“I decided to leave Syria because I wanted to search for the better future for me as a person and also to feel safe, to live a normal life.
“The second reason was to have more chances to continue my badminton career.”
The Syrian civil war began in March, 2011. There are now 6.6 million Syrian refugees worldwide, of whom 5.6 million are hosted in countries near Syria, according to the UN Refugee Agency. In Syria, 13.4 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.
Climbing the mountain
Like Mahmoud, Ahmad Badreddin Wais journeyed from war-torn Syria to Europe to pursue a safer existence.
Traveling by a combination of taxi, boat…
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