Maram (25) and Judith (44) both live in Zeist. At the beginning of November 2018, they were matched through Welkom in Utrecht. It clicked and since then they see each other regularly. To talk Dutch, but to do so much more. ‘Sometimes we shop, sometimes we walk the dog in the park and sometimes we go to the café for a drink,’ says Maram in almost flawless Dutch. I really enjoy meeting Judith. Because we do different things almost every time. We also eat together at her home and she gives me information about this country and the Dutch culture. We really talk about all kinds of things’. In Dutch? Maram laughs: ‘Yes, of course. Everything in Dutch.’

In 2017 Judith helped a week as a volunteer for the NGO Because We Carry in a refugee camp on Lesbos. ‘That touched me so much that, soon after I returned to the Netherlands, I let Welkom in Utrecht connect me as a (language) buddy in order to help refugees here as well. I find Maram a very clever, strong and sweet young lady. And she has a great sense of humour. She is working very hard to learn the Dutch language and culture. And she is doing very well. She learns very quickly and wants to know exactly how things work; both Dutch grammar and our customs. She sets the bar pretty high for herself, really goes for perfection. I find it remarkable how she has found her way in a totally foreign country, without her family and friends around. When she first arrived, she was very homesick for the social life she had in Syria and had to rebuild here. But now she knows more and more people here and she feels much better.’

‘The great thing is’, says Judith, ‘that we learn from each other. What I learned from her most of all is that freedom is not something that can be taken for granted. Before the war in Syria, Maram had a very normal life, studied physics at university, lived with her family in a nice house, had a social life and a future. That is gone all at once. Now Syria has become a kind of third world country and she is suddenly dependent on others here in the Netherlands. That felt very strange to her. I’m glad I got to know Maram and I hope to have many nice, pleasant conversations with her.’

Are you interested in becoming a (language) buddy? Then send an email to Eline at eline@welkominutrecht.nu