Feature: A Syrian refugee in Germany with unanswered questions

The weather was nice. It was neither too hot nor too cold and sun was shining when 20-year-old Ammar Alhamed from Syria spoke to Xinhua recently.

Alhamed was standing on the lawn of a school in Koblenz city in Rheinland-Pfalz state. Hair neatly combed, he tried to explain his journey from Turkey to Germany in broken sentences.

Born in Homs district of Khalidiya in Syria, Alhamed fled to Turkey several years ago because of the war. "There I was working 12 hours non-stop for mean salaries," he said.

Alhamed managed to pass an exam to enter university after several years of work. However, a year ago the university closed due to a lack of money.

Alhamed stayed jobless for about a year before he decided to leave Turkey for Greece. He flew to Marmaris where he reached an agreement with a people smuggler to continue his journey further into Europe.

"I saw people die on the way and some children almost died due to a lack of drinking water," Alhamed said.

Even he reached Greece and went on to Macedonia before joining tens of thousands of people on the Serbian border. "It was very cold and I did not have warm clothes or blankets," he said.

Alhamed's journey continued into Hungary. However, things did not get better there. Along with hundreds of others, he was forced to stay in a park with no food or drink.

In Budapast, he finally boarded a train heading for Germany. In the wee hours of Sept. 5, the train stopped at the Frankfurt Airport.

Together with his friends, Alhamed hopped off the train. He finally wore a smile on his face as volunteers emerged with food, drink and clothes.

Alhamed was transferred to Koblenz where he settled down with other 149 people in the fire service and disaster management school. With a borrowed phone, he can surf the internet for some time every day and talk to his friends.

Peter Schuessler, the spokesman of the school, told Xinhua that people in the town showed amazing hospitality to refugees by donating clothes and other items.

During the six weeks, Alhamed will stay in the camp he will apply for asylum to the German government. Once identified as a refugee, Alhamed would be able to stay in the country longer.

Alhamed evidently doesn't have a ready plan for his future. "Maybe I will work or I will study," he says.

The past experience in Syria is still hounding him. Alhamed lost contact with his family several years ago. The most vivid memory about Syria is "bombs."

"I just won't understand things had to come down to this. Why?" Alhamed asked. Endit