I dream of being an architect so I can rebuild my home in Syria”
Dear G7 Leaders,
Home – what does this mean?
For the last nine years, my home is Zarqa, Jordan.
My real home, the place where I was born and spent the first five years of my life was suddenly destroyed. As a small child, one day, we just fled. We had no choice. We had to run from the bombing, the tear gas – and from where our home once stood - Dara’a in Southwestern Syria.
Life, home and school is now Jordan, and we are not alone. So many of us from our homeland are here, desperately trying to make new lives, fit in, feel included and start new lives. I want to return home even though I don’t remember it well. I want to become an architect so that I can rebuild my home for my mother, Hind Issa Mas’deh. This means that we can reunite as a wider family and be together again, not just speak on WhatsApp, knowing we are forever apart.
But Syria is not safe. After almost ten years of fighting, there are many attacks. Right now, everything is expensive, and it feels impossible to find a job, especially for women. I could We are not free – that world is still dangerous and uncertain.
At least here in Jordan, we are safe. My sister, Toqa, and I can go to school, finish our education, support my mother. My brother, Nader, has a good job – he is a restaurant chef.
I ask for support to help me return to Syria when I can – to have the same opportunities back there. Help us not to be marginalised, forgotten and isolated – we are willing to rebuild our lives and our homes. I may be only 15 years old but I am willing to work hard – please, give us the rights and protection we need to start again – give us the chance to learn new skills so we can build new, improved lives for our families and communities.
Yours faithfully
Marwa, Syrian refugee in Jordan
Additional information - About CARE’s aid:
Marwa is supported by CARE's Cash-For-Education project. CARE supports families with cash to improve children's access to education. The money helps families to afford the school bus and buy schoolbooks, pencils, school bags, and other things. If children have learning difficulties, they and their families also receive psychosocial support. With VSLAs and business development training, families can build a source of income. The goal of the project is a sustainable, economic, social and psychological strengthening of the refugees.
