Jimmy Shahinian


Jimmy left his war-torn homeland of Syria after becoming one of ISIS’ “most-wanted” for his role in civilian uprisings. But his new life as a refugee in Germany held its own challenges

When the revolution began, Jimmy Shahinian became involved with some of the newly formed liberal activist groups. He was targeted by the Assad regime early on, arrested initially in May 2011 and then in September 2011. Jimmy escaped to Turkey in 2014 after being arrested and then released for a third time by the regime, as he was unable with his identity public to return to Raqqa under the control of Daesh. He spent 10 months in Turkey working for various international organisations for the Syrian Interim Government, before securing a visa to move to Germany. Now in Berlin, Jimmy works with Citizens for Syria, an NGO that helps to connect refugees with other exile organisations.

“Being foreign…sometimes people give you the impression you’re intruding on their lives.”

Jimmy Shahinian


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