THOUSANDS of Syrian refugees fleeing violence and persecution will be rehomed in Scotland over the next five years with Glasgow pledging to resettle more than any local authority in the country.

Desperate families were welcomed to the city earlier this month as part of a dedicated UN Vulnerable Person's Relocation scheme.

But this isn't the first time Syrian families have come to Glasgow under the scheme.

The Evening Times has spoken exclusively to the Al Obaid family who came to Glasgow a year ago. This is their story.

AL HAMZA AL OBAID is so appreciative of the chance at a peaceful life he said he would be “first in line” to protect Scotland if it was under threat.

The dad-of-three, 30, said he doesn’t just feel safe in his Pollokshield’s community - he feels “special”.

The Al Obaid family is from Homs, Syria’s third largest city and a key battleground in the uprising against Bashar al-Assad.

It was dubbed the “capital of the revolution” after residents embraced the call to overthrow the president in early 2011 and much of the city fell under the control of the opposition.

But in the years that followed government forces moved in, displacing tens of thousands of people.

Al Hamza, who worked in IT and accounts, had no option but to take his wife and two young daughters - Mashael, who is now seven and Bashiyr, five - and flee.

The dad, who has mobility problems because of injuries to his back and suffers from type 1 diabetes uprooted his family and moved to Jordan.

While they escaped the violence, their hopes of a better life were dashed.

Speaking in Arabic, through an interpreter, he said: “We lost all out wealth, all our belongings.”

He said life for a Syrian in Jordan is “very difficult” and the family was exploited.

“I spent all my savings in a short time,” he said.

“We were renting an apartment in Jordan, to try and avoid the terrible conditions in the camps.

“But if the rent is £30 for a local person, it will be £100 for a Syrian.”

Al Hamza was prohibited from working legally, which was a struggle anyway because of his health conditions.

But he became so desperate to earn money to support his family that he risked deportation and imprisonment to work in a deli.

For 12 hours work he was paid the equivalent of £3.

He also had to pay for insulin injections for himself and his daughter - who was also diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and fell seriously ill - they both need four a day.

He said: “I ran out of funds. I had to borrow money from people in Jordan.

“I approached United Nations and sought help to pay for the injections - at least for my daughter - I said that if she didn’t get them she could die.

“They came back after seven months to say they could help, but only partly.

“I had to borrow more money to pay for the full treatment.

“My wife had to sell her wedding jewellery.

“But it is okay because my daughter survived.”

Al Hamza borrowed £1,100 from lenders in Jordan who are still chasing him for money.

Desperate to leave Jordan, he visited a number of European embassies to ask for help.

Eight months later, UN officials contacted him to say he had been accepted for its Vulnerable Person’s Relocation Scheme and he then took part in a series of interviews which lasted a year, he said.

He said: “I was losing hope, I got severely depressed.”

Three months before the family left Jordan, Al Hamza’s wife went into labour with twins.

But after a complicated and long labour - which saw her driven for hours in a relative's car to seek the help of medics at a second hospital - one of the twins died. The other, his son Ayman, now 14 months, was diagnosed with diabetes too.

He said: “My wife suffered a lot in labour - she was critically ill.

“She had the baby I asked if my wife and the baby were okay but the doctors wouldn’t tell me until I paid money for the treatment.

“One of the babies had died.”

Al Hamza said: “This was a very difficult time for us.

“But, when it was hard, we would think about the children who are still in Syria - they don’t eat for three or four days.

“They are facing bombings from the the sky - they are not safe.

“We are lucky.”

Speaking of life in Syria, he said: “There are various enemies.

“Day-to-day you don’t know who is who.

“You are surrounded by dangers.

“If you manage to wake up in the morning you should say ‘thank god, you gave me another day to live’.”

He said IS ruled under a climate of fear and added: “If they found me smoking they would chop my fingers off.

“If they found my wife without a veil and gloves on she would be subject to lashings.

“This is day to day life, aside from the dangers of war.

“They pretend they are Muslims - they give this image - but they are not Muslim at all in their behaviour.”

Al Hamza told us that most of his friends and family have left Syria.

One friend who stayed, he said, was executed along with his two young sons.

An image of the dead children was posted online.

Speaking about his new life in Glasgow, he said: “I don’t just feel safe here, I feel special.

“I can walk in the street at 2am in the morning.

“My wife wears hijab and when people see us struggling on the street, as I am disabled, they open doors for us.

“If anyone was to threaten this country, I would be the first in line to protect it.”

He added: “Last week I was walking in the street and I felt dizzy - my blood sugar levels dropped because of my diabetes.

“I went to car garage near my house, a man took me inside and gave me juice and biscuits and waited until I felt better.

“I told him I was a Syrian refugee and he was very sympathetic.

“Now every time he sees me he waves and asks if I am okay.

“I am more than happy here.”

linzi.watson@eveningtimes.co.uk

Case study:

SAYID, a father-of-three who also came to Glasgow last year, said he "wants to correct the image that people have of Syrian refugees."

He and his family led a "luxurious and comfortable" life in Damascus as a result of his successful career managing shopping centres.

But they left their home - in which they had hired help - and all their possessions to flee the violence.

Speaking from his new home in Glasgow's Southside he said: "Don't think that all Syrian's had a miserable life.

"My family had a nice life. A comfortable life.

"But we have lost everything."

Sayid and his family - who do not want to be named - fled Damascus for Jordan after suffering unreportable horrors.

They appealed directly to United Nations and after six months they were flown to Scotland.

Sayid said: "The suffering of Syrians in Syria is not comparable to anything that has ever happened in the world.

"More than half have left and a third have been killed by the regime."

He added: "Syrian people are some of the most generous and friendly you will meet.

"And we are now lucky to be among Scottish people who are very much the same as Syrians."

THE Syrian families we spoke to have been helped by volunteers from Uniting Nations In Scotland (UNIS) a non-profit organisation that works with Refugees and Asylum Seekers.

They are appealing for items and donations to help those who turn to them.

The volunteers need non perishable food, clothes and toys for children of all ages as well as donations.

To help, email Ahlam Souidi at info@unis.org.uk