Okaz/Saudi Gazette

MINA – Syrian pilgrims who performed the Haj rituals this year have so many sad stories to share with the world.

One of the stories is about a Syrian married couple, who escaped from Dir Al-Zoor in Syria and sought asylum in Spain. They told Okaz how they ran away from Daesh (so-called IS), leaving behind a city that was completely destroyed. They stayed 63 days in sea until they reached Spain.

“Seeing the holy sites healed the deep wounds left by Daesh and Bashar Al-Assad mercenaries. My wife and I never thought that we would be subjected to so much oppression and persecution in our life.

“We still remember the day of our escape. It was close to midnight when we sneaked out and met the human smugglers, who took us to Turkey. We paid a lot of money to go from Turkey to Egypt. After two months, we arrived in Spain. We started a new life there,” Al-Asali said.

His wife Sawsan said she cannot describe the torture they had to go through in Syria.

“There is no place like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where one feels safe and secure,” she said.