We planned in plenty of time and picked up three male guests from Syria and Yemen at 2pm (the women and children stayed at the shelter). After tea with lots of biscuits, figs and dates, we walked into the village to do some supermarket shopping. The guests were allowed to decide for themselves what we were going to eat, and it was nice that one of them spoke some English; the conversation with the others went either through Google translate or the English-speaker.
The atmosphere was casual and relaxed. After coffee, we played chess and looked at photographs. Then we went into the kitchen, where the men prepared and cooked as much as possible themselves (chicken with rice, and salad). Everyone felt really comfortable, including whilst eating.
It is clear that they really wanted to work, or just to have something to do. Around 8 o’clock pm we brought our guests back to the shelter.
