
“Here in Berlin, near my house I have a mosque,” he said. “Arabic food is near me. My wife is Muslim, wearing a veil. When she goes [out], nobody would speak bad to her.”
On July 20, Amani Dugmush, Mohamad’s wife, landed in Berlin with her daughter Ragda, 12, and four sons — Abdul-Salam, Abdullah, Marwan and Yusouf, ranging from 13 to 2 years old. The family reunited after nearly 18 months apart. Mohamad said when he tried to hug the youngest, Yusouf, in the airport, the toddler cried because he did not recognize him.
The family’s Berlin home is a recently renovated a three-room apartment, provided by German welfare authorities. The apartment is located in Neukölln, an area of Berlin where some 40 percent of the population is of non-German origin.
“This street is named Sonnenallee, but Arab people call it Arab Strasse,” Mohamad said of the large avenue, 100 feet from his front door. “When I go outside and everyone speaks Arabic, I smile.”