Syrian mother in Dumfries urges Home Office to help son trapped in Ukraine

• Video report from Greg Hoare

The family of a Syrian man who is trapped in Ukraine are pleading with the Home Office to allow him into the UK.

As a teenager, Naeem Hijazi was forced to leave his home in Syria as civil war spread through the country. 

He spent time with his family as a refugee in Lebanon, but the cost of education meant he had to travel to Sudan to study medicine.

When revolution swept through the African country, he left for Egypt, and applied for a visa to Ukraine.

He received one, and enrolled at a university in the eastern city of Kharkiv, but just two months later the Russian invasion put his studies on hold once again, and his life in danger.

As conflicted in and around the city escalated, Naeem fled by train to the western city of Lviv, and then walked for miles to the Polish border.

So far he has been stuck at the border, and as he is not a Ukrainian citizen, he fears he will not be allowed to cross into an EU country.

Naeem's parents, Sarab Meslmani and Abdulmajeed Hijazi, were resettled in Dumfries after fleeing Syria.

They are desperate for their son to be able to join them.

"We can't sleep, can't do anything. I'm confused always," Sarab told Representing Border.

Asked what her message to the Home Office is, she says "I beg the Government in the UK to bring my son home, to be safe here and complete his studies. I can't live without him."

The UK Government has relaxed visa requirements for Ukrainian refugees, but as Naeem is Syrian, the specific schemes are unlikely to apply to him.

Sarab and Abdulmajeed have made Dumfries their home. But it will only truly be that when their son joins them.