Adnan Kharabotli

Syria

In 24 hours, Adnan Kharbotli’s life was changed.

Adnan fled the war in Syria before completing his education. At the age of 17, with only two months left of school, he left home and entered into the world of the unknown.

He spent months travelling between Lebanon and Turkey, and then many more months in Greece. Days were passing by and every day seemed the same. So Adnan packed his bags again for the umpteenth time, and left for Croatia. After that, he went to France, then finally decided to settle in Italy to look for an opportunity.

“I worked at everything– a janitor, construction worker and street vendor. For five years I didn’t know anything about my future and didn’t expect anything from it”.

He had always been interested in coding and tried to learn some of the coding language, but always ran into problems: language barriers, access to cash, and time. He has always known that acquiring skills is the only sure way to success, and now his phone is full of contacts of fellow coders from all over the world, who played a great role helping Adnan add the phrase “graduate of the One Million Arab Coders initiative” to his signature.

Adnan’s life took a second turn for the better when he obtained a permit within two months authorizing him to open a company in his name in Italy. After that, he won more than one competition and hackathon for a smart car parking application he developed based on aerial maps. He adds, laughing in his beloved Levantine accent: “You guys! You adopted me”.