I am Abdulkader Fattouh.
As the name of the great renowned perfumery in Syria, Fattouh, in Aleppo.
This perfume is my grandfather who created it.
Besides, my whole family worked there.
My father, my uncles, my cousins and myself.
I grew up all my childhood with the passion of perfume.
Aleppo was a city full of beautiful smells.
That of the laurel which perfumed Aleppo soap.
Good smells of Syrian cuisine.
The jasmine of my grandfather’s house.
And when I was 17,
my dream was to join the perfume school of Versailles.
I wanted to bring to the family perfume
theoretical knowledge in chemistry.
The know-how, my grandfather taught us.
But the theory, I wanted to learn
and understand the processes to innovate and create new scents.
Unfortunately, the war broke out.
The war destroys everything behind it.
Life, work, everything stops.
And to come here in France, it became very difficult.
When I finished my studies in Aleppo, I had to make a choice.
Do my military service and join this crazy war,
or go to Turkey to flee.
I went to Turkey in February 2014, where I stayed for a year and a half.
I left Turkey by the sea in a rubber boat,
to the Greek island of Mytilene.
I still have in my nose the smell of rubber,
mixed with that of the sea.
I was very scared,
less than here, of course, but I was very scared.
(Applause)
I did not tell my family the time of departure.
I just told them that I was going to leave Turkey by sea.
I phoned my family that night to say goodbye.
I called everyone in my family one last time, just in case.
We finally reached the Greek coast.
I called my family to tell them
that I had survived the most difficult stage, the sea.
Then I went through Greece, Macedonia, Serbia.
I walked to cross the borders.
From Serbia to Vienna, Austria, we were in a truck.
In Austria, when I arrived, I was with two friends.
They decided to go to Germany.
Me, my dream was in France.
I had to choose:
continue with my friends, or continue alone in France.
It was a difficult choice.
My goal was the most important for me.
I left alone.
Arrived in France, I started a new journey,
but this time, all alone, without friends.
I did not know anyone here in France.
I immediately applied for asylum.
I wanted France to recognize me as a refugee,
protect me, help me to stay.
From the beginning, we were clear with me:
a young man, single and in good health
could stay in the street.
I was the last person
to whom we would propose accommodation.
I called OSICA every day and heard the same answer:
“No place, call tomorrow. “
I suffered.
I got a few nights of accommodation.
The rest of the time, I was outside.
Sleeping in the street is horrible.
We do not sleep,
we are always on guard.
Not to mention the smell of sewers, urine and moisture.
The squeegee next to it is Chanel N ° 5.
The day I stayed at the library,
but I could not study or do anything.
I always thought, “How am I going to sleep tonight? “
2015 was very hard.
I have lost hope.
I was exhausted, desperate.
I never imagined living this.
2016 has started better.
First, I got my refugee status,
and I met some wonderful people at Secours Catholique,
in associations like JRS France, Singa.
in families that hosted me,
people who helped me
These people heard my suffering with the heart,
and not only with the ears.
I was also allowed to enroll in university.
I started French classes in February,
because until then, I always used English.
And finally, my French has improved,
especially since I lived with French families.
It allowed me to understand French society.
I finally had the right to work.
It was not easy at all, but I ended up finding it.
Every morning, I took a French course,
and in the evening, I delivered pizzas on a scooter.
You have, perhaps, already crossed me.
The four cheeses, it was me.
(Laughter)
Remember, I told you about my dream:
integrate the perfumery school of Versailles.
Last March,
I filled in the application form to do my master’s degree.
I explained my dream, told my story, my experience.
I worked hard to file a perfect record.
I am 25 years old, I come from Aleppo,
I have a degree in Applied Chemistry from Aleppo University.
I thought it was a good start
to reach my goal
and to be someone who brings his stone to society.
Sadly,
for the school of Versailles,
it did not work.
My French was not enough.
I was not accepted.
This refusal was a shock to me,
a great disappointment that lasted several days.
I had no energy, I could not take it anymore.
All that for this.
But I could not give up here.
I managed to be admitted into a pro license of chemistry,
alternately at Lyon 1 University.
But, again, it did not work.
Despite a hundred CVs sent,
despite some interviews,
I did not find the company for my alternation.
I had to bounce again.
So I just started in September
the last year of a general license in chemistry at Lyon 1 University.
And of course, I continue my French classes.
My dream is always the same.
I still want to join a perfume school next year.
These last two years have lasted ten years for me.
My life path, until I’m 25, looks a bit like that.
But beware, I’m not sad.
All this experience built me.
I learned a lot.
I learned to hang on to an inflatable boat, trucks,
and most importantly, to my dreams,
to keep hope, when everything falls apart.
You must never forget to dream.
You’ll see,
one day I will be nose,
I will be nose.
I will be a great perfumer.
I even have the idea of a perfume.
In top note, an aquatic scent, like iodine,
to remind me of my passage at sea.
In heart note, a white flower, like lily of the valley
that had been offered to me by one of the host families.
And in the background, the woody,
to translate the difficulty of this path.
I will call this perfume “Amal”,
“Hope” in Arabic.
Thank you.
(Applause)
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