Khaled: ”First Swedish, then the next step”
Khaled Mekdad did not have all the odds on his side. Admittedly his experience of dentistry went back for 30 years. He carried out jaw surgery. He was confident in his professional role.
Khaled Mekdad is of Palestinian descent, but his family has lived for a long time in Syria. He came to Sweden in 2015. As a middle-aged man he had not only to master a new language, he had also to do so almost perfectly.
– First Swedish, then the next step.
– It's all about focusing on one thing at a time. And believing in yourself.
Eventually he managed to get out into a dental practice to work as an assistant.
”It's all about focusing on one thing at a time. And believing in yourself.”Khaled Mekdad, dentist
At last he was able to validate his Syrian dental training and got permission to work in Sweden. Hässleholms Tandvård (Hässleholm Dental Care) opened at the end of the summer.
His colleague and partner Alaa Sepphan had no plans to leave Folktandvården, but let himself be persuaded to start on his own. He has a background similar to Khaled Mekdad's, the difference being that he is from Iraq and is younger. Alaa Sepphan had only time to work for a few years in Baghdad before he came to Sweden in 2012. He had the same attitude as his older colleague.
– You just have to struggle on. And then struggle a bit more.
– Getting your degree authorised in Sweden is difficult, but not impossible.
