Palestinian woman Tamam Abou Hamidan from Gaza becomes mayor of Sweden
Tamam Abou Hamidan is one of the millions of Palestinians whose lives illustrate the fact that Palestinian refugees who have been forced to live in exile for more than seven decades have extraordinary patience.
The bitterness of life when she was in the Gaza Strip did not break the spirit of this Palestinian woman, in fact she was able to succeed after succeeding in leaving suffering in Palestine.
Abou Hamidan was born and spent her childhood in Jabaliya on the Gaza Strip in Palestine, then studied in local schools before finally taking a journalism degree from Al-Aqsa University. Worried about the consequences of the ongoing blockade of Gaza, exacerbated by the deteriorating economic situation, and to have a better future for her daughter, she and her parents decided to move to Blekinge County in southern Sweden in 2014.
When she came to Sweden, Abu’s life did not improve immediately as she was faced with many challenges such as language differences and cultural habits that made it difficult to get a job and adapt to a new society.
But luckily she managed to get a job at a pizza restaurant which gave her a residence permit. Since 2016, her fluent Swedish and her other skills help her to work at the employment service in Blekingeland as a consultant to help new immigrants enter the labor market.
About Tamam Abou Hamidan
Abou revealed that her work gives her motivation and enthusiasm to continue working hard to achieve more goals. Abou, who later took a master’s degree in leadership and organization from Malmö University, decided in 2015 to join the Social Democratic Party in the small town of Olofström in Blekinge County.
Her political career began to climb slowly, beginning with Abou’s nomination for Blekinge County Council, holding the position of vice chairman of the municipal council’s education committee, and a member of the provincial council.
Through her efforts and hard work, Abou managed to prove herself mayor after she was nominated by her party to lead the council in Olofström 2020.
Not only has she managed to overcome the challenges of being a woman in politics, Abou has also managed to fulfill her role as a Palestinian woman from Gaza, mayor and mother very well, even now she is trying to run for the Swedish parliament in the elections next September.
Abou Hamidan said that she was very happy and proud of what she had achieved in Sweden. She emphasized that the fact that a Palestinian woman from Gaza could achieve such a position in Sweden is proof of the Palestinian cause.
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