A Syrian refugee living in Germany has become an Internet sensation after a photo was posted of him cooking food for homeless people in Berlin.
Alex Assali fled Damascus in 2007 after he posted something critical about Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and after spending time in Libya he moved to Germany in September 2014.
Assali told The Huffington Post that he has been feeding homeless people at different locations throughout Berlin since August of this year. In the photograph, he is seen cooking at his food stand with a sign saying “Give Something Back To German People."
Germany is currently home to thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing from Daesh-controlled lands back home. But not everyone has been so welcoming towards them in the country—numerous incidents of persecution have reported over the past year.
The post has been viewed on Imgur over 2.8 million times.
Alex, a Syrian refugee hands out food to the homeless in Berlin every Saturday. Picture taken by Tabea <a rel="noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10207801570941957&set=a.2040224689974.2123520.1375007961&type=3&theater">https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10207801570941957&set=a.2040224689974.2123520.1375007961&type=3&theater</a>
People took to social media to express their admiration for Assali, with many noting that hearing a nice story during a time of extreme hardship is a rare comfort.
@AnonUKRadio Thank you for retweeting. beautiful story in days when so hard to find any #alexassali #thanksalex
— rvabUSED (@rvabUSED) November 25, 2015@_TheBlankCanvas Truly heartwarming! God bless you, Alex Assali! #gratitude
— Dianne J (@diaanneej) November 25, 2015Simple lesson in humanity from a man who's lost all, yet still able to give to others #AlexAssali #Berlin #refugees https://t.co/K4X3Sk5QII
— Andre´ (@skibum999) November 24, 2015A Syrian refugee offering food for homeless Germans - I hope this photo shuts a lot of people up pic.twitter.com/SYyyzsSUU7
— Stefan Solanki (@stefanbr0) November 23, 2015
