Mawaheb Seraj came to Serbia as a refugee with a hope, a dream and a cat. Now he has fulfilled his hope of finding the right job, met the woman of his dreams and his cat has a new companion: a dog.

Refugees often find it difficult to integrate in a new society, but Mawaheb had two crucial advantages: He is a computer programmer, and that skill can be transferred from country to country. In addition, he spoke English, a global tech language.

“It is my good luck to be a programmer,” he says. “I know other educated refugees like doctors and lawyers have to learn the local language and modify their qualifications.”

Mawaheb studied programming at university in Aleppo, Syria, but war forced him to flee in 2012. He went to Turkey and then Serbia, where he rented a flat in Belgrade for himself and his cat Fidel.

He had a long wait, but once he got full refugee status he was eligible to apply for jobs. He soon found one with IPS Energy, a global company that finds digital solutions for the energy industry.

"He was the best fit ... Where he came from was irrelevant.”

“We scouted out some 20 candidates and chose Mawaheb,” says Ivan Petkoski, who manages the firm’s branch in Serbia. “He was the best fit because of his skills and previous work. Where he came from was irrelevant.”

Petkoski was surprised at how well Mawaheb spoke Serbian, although it was not a requirement for the job.

Mawaheb and Ida hug in a park in Belgrade. After fleeing Syria, he found safety in Serbia, then love and work as a software developer. © UNHCR/Daniel Etter

Ida was walking her dog in a Belgrade park when she first met Mawaheb. "From the moment Mawaheb and I met, we were together all the time," she says. "We felt as if we knew each other." © UNHCR/Daniel Etter

Mawaheb speaks with a colleague at his office. He works as a software engineer for an energy company in Belgrade. © UNHCR/Daniel Etter

Ida gives her dog Lulu some water. Her husband, Mawaheb, is a refugee from Syria who works as a software engineer for an energy company. © UNHCR/Daniel Etter

At home in Belgrade, Mawaheb cuddles his cat, Fidel. They have been together since shortly after Mawaheb fled the war in Syria. © UNHCR/Daniel Etter

Lulu rests with her puppies at the home they share with their owners, Ida and Mawaheb, in Belgrade. © UNHCR/Daniel Etter

The secret to his fluency probably lay in Mawaheb’s chance meeting with a woman in a park one winter day two years ago. She was walking her Jack Russell terrier.

“It was a cold day and I was walking Lulu,” says Ida, now 34, a Serbian costume designer and illustrator. “From the moment Mawaheb and I met, we were together all the time. We felt as if we knew each other.”

In June 2018 they had a Serbian civil wedding, followed by a Muslim ceremony.

The couple had found love, but at first things were tense between Fidel and Lulu – so much so that the pets had to be kept in separate flats. Now they are together in the newly-weds’ spacious apartment. And Lulu has even had a litter of six puppies.

Success as a programmer has given Mawaheb a platform to settle in easily in Serbia and an opportunity to give back in a new land.