From Aleppo, Syria, to Ljubljana, Slovenia: Fatum’s journey of turning cooking into a livelihood
From Aleppo, Syria, to Ljubljana, Slovenia: Fatum’s journey of turning cooking into a livelihood
Fatum Ghanima, a Syrian refugee, sits at a table in Al-Yasmin, the restaurant she runs in Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia.
When Fatum first arrived in Slovenia, the cold took her breath away.
“It was November and very cold,” she recalls. “In Syria we don’t have that kind of winter. It was the first time in my life I experienced such cold.”
Fatum Ghanima fled Syria in 2015 with her husband, Mohammad Ghanimi, and their two children, leaving behind their life in Aleppo when the war made staying impossible. Like millions of others, they were forced to flee in search of safety. In Syria, her father ran a small commercial business, while her mother owned a hair salon, where Fatum worked while pursuing her studies.
“We didn’t choose Slovenia,” she says simply. “We chose safety.”
A new beginning in an unfamiliar country
After fleeing the conflict, the family spent time in Greece before eventually moving to Slovenia, a country Fatum had never heard of before.
“When we read about it and saw that it was safe, that was enough for us,” she says. “A safe country for our children, where we could live like normal people.”
The family spent three months in a refugee reception centre before receiving international protection and moving into their own apartment. Adjusting to life outside the centre was not easy.
“In the centre, you wait all the time. You cannot do anything,” Fatum recalls. “Outside, everything felt new: the language, the culture, the people.”
Being visibly different made the first months more challenging. “I wear a headscarf and I come from a different country,” she says. “When I walked in the street, I felt that people noticed me.”
Over time, however, Fatum began to feel more at home in the community. “Many people were kind,” she adds. “They helped us, spoke to us, and welcomed us. In the end, that is what stayed with us.”
From home cooking to entrepreneurship
Fatum found early support through Slovenska filantropija, a Slovenian NGO with which UNHCR has closely collaborated for many years. The organization supports refugees in settling into the local community and rebuilding their lives by providing practical assistance, including help with navigating healthcare, education, employment services, and banking.
While Slovenia offers access to asylum and basic services, many refugees still need hands-on support to overcome practical and social barriers in their everyday lives. For Fatum and her family, this meant help with everything from doctor’s appointments to opening a bank account - and, in time, an opportunity that would change everything.
“They often needed catering for their events and asked if I could cook,” she says. “I said yes. Cooking is our life.”
The response was immediate. “People tried the food and said, ‘Wow, one day you should open a restaurant.’”
What began as catering for events organized by Slovenska filantropija gradually expanded to community gatherings and private celebrations. Fatum and her husband worked tirelessly, often up to 12 hours a day, saving every euro while taking turns caring for their children.
“We didn’t have weekends together,” she says, “but we had a plan.”
Learning the rules and taking a leap
That plan was to open their own restaurant.
Yet opening a restaurant in a new country meant starting from scratch. The couple had to learn about food safety regulations, tax systems, required permits, and customer expectations.
“My husband worked in Slovenian restaurants to learn how everything works here,” Fatum explains. “In Syria, it is very different.”
When they found a small restaurant whose owners were preparing to close, they decided to seize the opportunity. They agreed to pay in monthly instalments and worked through the required paperwork.
Just ten days after taking over the space, they opened their doors. “We were scared,” she admits. “But we did it.”
The risk paid off.
Today, Al-Yasmin is a successful and thriving restaurant in the heart of Ljubljana, where 90 per cent of its customers are Slovenians, drawn by a menu that blends Syrian flavours with local tastes.
“They don’t like too much spice,” Fatum says with a smile. “So we learned and adjusted. We mixed our cultures.”
A place that feels like home
Stepping into the restaurant feels like stepping into Syria. The décor, made up of handmade items inspired by the region, reflects Fatum’s heritage and pride.
Fatum Ghanima, owner of the Al-Yasmin restaurant in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, adjusts a decorative wall piece inside her restaurant, surrounded by colourful Syrian artwork that creates a warm, traditional atmosphere.
“Every customer asks where it comes from,” she says. “It all reflects Syria, with pieces sourced from Türkiye and Jordan.”
The business now employs six people, including staff from Slovenia, Syria, the State of Palestine and Nigeria, and has become a small hub of diversity and inclusion.
Alongside running the restaurant, Fatum also works as an Arabic–Slovenian interpreter, supporting refugee communities and institutions, including government services. She learned Slovenian within a year of arrival and continues to study economics at postgraduate level.
“I belong”
Fatum hopes her story helps people better understand the experiences behind forced displacement. “Some people think we came to Europe for money,” she says. “But if there was no war, I would never have left Syria. We had a good life.”
Through food, she found a way to carry parts of that life with her — and to share it with others in her new home.
“When Slovenian people sit in our restaurant and share our food,” she says, “that is when I know I belong.”
Fatum Ghanima, owner of the Al-Yasmin Arab Restaurant in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, stands with her husband, Mohammad Ghanimi, on the staircase of their restaurant, surrounded by traditional Syrian carpets adorning the walls.
