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Munchies

Meet the Beekeeper Who Fled War-Torn Syria and Is Now Making Urban Honey in Copenhagen

"When I’m with the bees, I forget the war."

This article originally appeared on MUNCHIES Denmark in April 2016

Three years ago, Aref Haboo worked as a beekeeper in Syria, tending to his 45 hives in a small village near the Turkish border. Now—having fled his war-torn home country and travelled to Denmark—he is still making honey and managing beehives on the roof of Copenhagen's City Hall and in the blooming flower beds of the Tivoli Gardens.

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His journey in 2013 from Syria to Denmark lasted two months. He left his family behind, fled through the desert, slept in cold, abandoned warehouses, and spent 35 hours in the cargo container of a truck traveling through Italy. The only things he carried with him were his passport and photographs of his bees.

"In one of the photographs, I'm embracing a beehive," says 42-year-old Aref, with graying hair and deep brown eyes. "In another picture, my face is swollen from bee stings."

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Aref was granted asylum in Denmark and started as a language intern at Bybi, a social enterprise that uses bees to explore the biodiversity of Copenhagen. It also produces and sells quality honey, involving disadvantaged people in its production. Bybi's founder, Oliver Maxwell, is inspired by the notion of a society where all members play a part, just as they do in a colony of honey bees.

Read more on MUNCHIES.