brian hill

reber, and his good friend ergu, at his home in the hague, netherlands.

reber is a refugee from zakho, koerdistan. he entered the netherlands illegally and immediately applied for political asylum (at schiphol airport). he was put through 'the system', which eventually denied him the right to stay. reber stayed anyway, spent time as an illegal immigrant, working and living illegally,

studying and learning dutch.nine years later, reber has a dutch passport, lives in the hague with his dutch girlfriend, works at the UAF(www.uaf.nl), helping refugee students, and pays tax.i asked him what he would like me to say on the site about the picture or about refugees.he said something like, "i think a system is failing when highly educated people are picking tomatoes. we should help refugees find work they are suited for. if 'the system' is personalized, refugees can become a great resource that will benefit the netherlands, or any host country."

reber and ergu (a refugee from northern turkey) both speak perfect dutch, have a good sense of humoor and are happy to be living and working in holland. it was nice to meet them.