UK / SYRIAN REFUGEE BEEKEEPER

When Ryad Alsous fled the war in Syria, he had to leave behind his beloved bees. An expert beekeeper and university lecturer, he was forced to abandon his apiary. But in Yorkshire, England, the local beekeeping has helped him start over, one hive at a time. Now he’s giving back. UNHCR

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:03:10
• Production Date: 6 December 2017
• Asset Language: English
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES - UNHCR
• Subject Topical: REFUGEES
• Geographic Subject: UNITED KINGDOM
• MAMS Id: 2053695
• Parent Id: 2053695
• Alternate Title: unifeed171206c

Description

STORY: UK / SYRIAN REFUGEE BEEKEEPER
TRT: 3:10
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTION: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 10-11 NOVEMBER 2017, HUDDERSFIELD, WEST YORKSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM

Shotlist

1. Various shots, Syrian refugee beekeeper Dr. Alsous checking beehives
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Ryad Alsous, Syrian Refugee:
“Bees mean to me peace, mean to me safety. They mean to me life. They mean to me everything.”
3. Various shots, Ryad Alsous with his bee hives
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ryad Alsous, Syrian Refugee:
“The war forced me to leave because I wanted to save my life.”
5. Various shots, Ryad Alsous with his bee hives
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ryad Alsous, Syrian Refugee:
“All of my hives were destroyed or killed. Some of them burnt.”
7. Wide shot, Alsous walking to bee hives
8. Close up, bees
9. Various shots, Alsous working at the bee hives
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Ryad Alsous, Syrian Refugee:
“I have a long history in my country. It was very hard for me to leave my country.”
11. Various shots, Alsous closing a hive
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Ryad Alsous, Syrian Refugee:
“One lady read about my advertisement and she decided to give me one of her hives.”
13. Various shots, Ryad sharing dinner with his family and West Yorkshire resident, Jean York
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean York, West Yorkshire resident:
“He has a lot of skills and a lot of people who have come here, they come from highly educated backgrounds with a lot of experience.”
15. Various shots, Ryad teaching job seekers and refugees for beekeeping at his Buzz project initiative
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Ryad Alsous, Syrian Refugee:
“Buzz project is helping, teaching and improving the skills of refugees, improving their language, teaching them about a new career like beekeeper.”
17. Various shots, bees being smoked
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Monica Best, West Yorkshire Resident:
“He’s helped us expand our hives.”
19. Various shots, Ryad helping out at the bee hives of the Best family
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Monica Best, West Yorkshire Resident:
“We had honey but didn’t know what to do with it. So he’s taken us through the whole process.”
21. Various shots, Ryad working

Storyline

Ryad Alsous was a renowned beekeeper in Syria. He owned 500 hives and founded Damascus University’s beekeeping programme.

SOUNDBITE (English) Ryad Alsous, Syrian Refugee:
“Bees mean to me peace, mean to me safety. They mean to me life. They mean to me everything.”

Alsous fled Syria with his family in 2013.

SOUNDBITE (English) Ryad Alsous, Syrian Refugee:
“The war forced me to leave because I wanted to save my life. All of my hives were destroyed or killed. Some of them burnt.”

Alsous had practised beekeeping since 1974

SOUNDBITE (English) Ryad Alsous, Syrian Refugee:
“I have a long history in my country. It was very hard for me to leave my country.”

Once in England, he looked hard for a beekeeping job

SOUNDBITE (English) Ryad Alsous, Syrian Refugee:
“One lady read about my advertisement and she decided to give me one of her hives.”

Alsous expanded his apiary one hive at a time, using recycled wood. He now owns 17 hives.

Many people in West Yorkshire offered him support.

SOUNDBITE (English) Jean York, West Yorkshire resident:
“He has a lot of skills and a lot of people who have come here, they come from highly educated backgrounds with a lot of experience.”

Alsous is now giving back to the community, through a project that helps job seekers and refugees.

SOUNDBITE (English) Ryad Alsous, Syrian Refugee:
“Buzz project is helping, teaching and improving the skills of refugees, improving their language, teaching them about a new career like beekeeper.”

Alsous has also shared his expertise with other beekeepers.

SOUNDBITE (English) Monica Best, West Yorkshire Resident:
“He’s helped us expand our hives. We had honey but didn’t know what to do with it. So he’s taken us through the whole process.”

Alsous is grateful for the opportunity he has. He believes refugees have much to offer the UK.

As of the end of 2016, there were about 116,000 refugees in the United Kingdom and more than 46,000 asylum seekers at the end of 2016. Huddersfield in West Yorkshire is part of the “city of sanctuary” network, providing shelter and support to refugees like legal and financial help, language classes, weekly suppers and job training.