Refugees in Wales: 'Thank God I came here after our home was bombed'

fter 15 years of building it, Khaled Muha could not believe the horror when his dream family home was obliterated by a missile attack just two months after he had finished.

Five challenging years living in a tent in an Iraqi camp for Syrian refugees followed, before a 3,000-mile trip into the unknown to a new life somewhere in the UK.

Following a three-hour minibus journey after landing in Britain, the family finally stopped outside a three-bedroom semi-detached house in west Wales - and four years later they are proud to call it home.

Now the scenes of refugees fleeing Ukraine are almost too painful to watch for father-of-three Khaled and wife Fatima - because 10 years ago, in a different war, they were in the same position with the Muha family desperate to find safety as the bombs rained down.

Exhausted by a decade of suffering, the family could be forgiven for wanting time to reflect and finally enjoy the quiet life in rural Carmarthenshire.

Yet having fled Syria's civil war, the 47-year-old is grateful for the chance to start again and wants to make up for lost time.

None of the family spoke any English when they arrived in the UK in 2018 but while their three sons go to local schools and colleges, Khaled and Fatima attend English lessons and volunteer at the local Oxfam shop.

"The schools are very high level and the teachers here are perfect. For me, I think here is a good place."

With the UK preparing to welcome refugees from the war in Ukraine, the memories have come flooding back for Khaled.

And the Muha family are keen to show how a loving community can help people in time of crisis but also how refugees can help enrich communities.

Their rented council home is immaculately clean and tidy and as the boys arrive home from school, Fatima serves tea and handmade baklava and harisi - a Syrian semolina cake - which she has prepared in the kitchen.

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