A Syrian Refugee's Powerful Story Serves as a Compelling Call-to-Action for All
Growing up in the city of Daraa in Southwestern Syria, Doaa's childhood was relatively peaceful and carefree. She made pleasant memories spending time with her extended family, had good friends at school, and dreamed of one day being the first person in her family to attend university.
When the Arab Spring began in Tunisia in December 2010, suddenly the world around Doaa begin to change. Slowly but surely, the revolutionary fever made it's way into Syria, and Doaa discovered within herself a newfound passion for change.
What began as peaceful protests however quickly turned into a bloody conflict. The Assad government cracked down hard on both militant and non-violent dissenters, with thousands of innocent lives also being lost in the process. Doaa's beloved hometown Daraa was eventually besieged by the Syrian military, and her family began living under a reign of terror.
After what felt like an eternity (and the near-total destruction of Daraa), the Al Zamel family made the difficult decision flee to Egypt. Doaa was devastated, but understood they had no other choice.
Upon arriving in Egypt, however, the Al Zamel's encountered a myriad of new problems, from difficulties finding jobs and financial strife to brutal persecution and xenophobia from native Egyptians.
One day, Doaa meets a charming young man named Bassem, and the two eventually fall in love and are engaged. During some trying and difficult months, the young couple realizes that there is no future for them in Egypt. Although Doaa's biggest fear is water (and she's unable to swim), she boldly resolves to risk her life with Bassem and cross the Mediterranean Sea in search for a better life together in Europe. What follows is a tumultuous series of events, and a tragic tale that demonstrates the determination and courage of refugees everywhere.
Doaa's story absolutely broke my heart. I don't often get emotional while reading, but there were several points in this book where I was audibly shocked and saddened. Towards the end I came close to tearing up, which speaks to the poignancy but also difficulty of Doaa's experience.
It was honestly sickening to read about the numerous atrocities and injustices that Doaa witnessed and endured. Some acts could only best be described as pure evil, as they demonstrated the cruel and destructive capabilities of human beings who are only motivated by self-interest.
Doaa's tale sometimes read as a work of fiction simply due to the bewildering nature of her experiences, and I often found myself thinking, I can't believe these are real human beings, who had to endure such genuine, terrible suffering. This was physical and psychological trauma like I have never known, and throughout reading this book I was forced to confront my own privilege as someone who has never lived in a war zone, and therefore never forced to risk their life to leave their homeland.
Ultimately, it was Doaa's resilience and unspeakable courage in the face of adversity (particularly while crossing the Mediterranean) that made this book most inspiring. She was my age, just 19, when she made the decision to leave Egypt, and I truly cannot imagine having to live with the numerous burdens she was forced to carry. She truly is such a strong and resolute young woman, and words cannot describe how much I came to admire her determined and steadfast spirit. I know for a fact I never could have survived some of the conditions she did, and I applaud her for her bravery and sacrifice.
At the end of the day however, Doaa is just one of 26 million refugees in our world today. Even in the midst of this global pandemic, there are still people suffering in war zones (not just in Syria), who are making the risky decision to leave everything they know in search of a better life. In reading this book I was reminded that these millions of refugees simply cannot afford to be ignored by the international community during this time, especially since their lack of access to good healthcare (if any) adds an additional layer of vulnerability to their already precarious condition.
While Doaa's story certainly weighed heavy on my heart, it has convicted and encouraged me to become more vocal about the global refugee crisis and to take action that supports one of our world's most vulnerable populations. Now more than ever we must not, and indeed can not, turn our back on the global refugee community. There is a role for all of us to play in this fight, and many more stories aside from that of Doaa to be heard.
I will be including some links below to organizations that are currently doing work to support refugees around the world. Even if you are unable to contribute financially, I encourage you to nevertheless become informed, and be a voice for those on the margins. Before I conclude this post, I would like to share a passage from the book that struck a chord with me and that, in my opinion, aptly sums up the plight of refugees everywhere:
"The simple truth is that refugees would not risk their lives on such a dangerous journey if they could thrive where they were. Migrants fleeing grinding poverty would not be on those boats if they could feed themselves and their children at home or in bordering countries. Nobody would resort to spending their life savings to hire the notorious smugglers if they could apply to resettle in a safe country legally. Until these problems are addressed, people will continue to cross the sea, endangering their lives to seek asylum. No person fleeing conflict or persecution should have to die trying to reach safety." (Fleming, p. 259)
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/get-involved.html
International Rescue Committee
https://www.rescue.org/how-to-help
Doctors Without Borders
https://www.msf.org/resource-centre
Amnesty International
https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/
Comments
Post a Comment