During 2016 and 2017, Mutasem Hayatla (usually known as Sam) worked on Save the Children’s search and rescue vessel in the Mediterranean. As a Cultural Mediator, he was part of a team that helped to rescue thousands of people.

Mutasem had worked with refugees in Syria before being forced to flee when his home was destroyed. He ended up in Sweden where he continued his work to support others fleeing conflict.

One night, he pulled six-year-old Amena, her brother Samer and her parents to safety. Amena was close to death but was airlifted to a hospital to receive the treatment she so vitally needed.

The family – these children who had taken an extraordinary journey – stayed in his thoughts long afterwards.

“They were in my mind from the last moment I saw them,” says Mutasem. “I was myself an asylum seeker, it was personal for me.”

Six months after their rescue, he got the chance to find out what happened next. Mutasem visited them in the Netherlands where Save the Children is helping families living in asylum centres to settle.

“Hello. How are you? You have grown so much.” That’s what Mutasem said when he saw Amena and her brother. But the huge smiles on their faces tell you more – they speak of the bond that now exists between Mutasem and these two children.

You can watch the reunion between Mutasem and the children.

Mutasem’s experience on the ship has had a huge effect on him. “It’s a life changing experience. It’s changed my perspective on so many things.”

EPISODE 3: SAM/MUTASEMTHE PEOPLE WHO INSPIRED THE PODCAST…

CULTURAL MEDIATORMutasem Hayatla

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