Personal Narrative: My Life As A Syrian Refuge

A summer home, my favorite playground, and the smell of the jasmine flowers in a busy city. Each of these represents a meaningful and powerful symbol of my childhood that I lost as a result of the Syrian Revolution. While I have spent many of my teen years struggling with what the conflict has taken from me, it was not until I volunteered at a Syrian refugee school in Turkey that I truly began to understand the suffering, destruction of life, and loss of opportunity that the conflict has caused. This experience pushed me to look beyond myself and my local community in order to develop a more global perspective.
While teaching English in Istanbul, I met refugees of various ages. One of my students was a ten-year-old boy named Ibrahim. He had one of the brightest personalities I ever encountered, and yet had never learned to spell his name until I taught him how to do so. We grew close as we spent more time together, and I looked forward to seeing him every morning. On my last day at the school, he was on the verge of tears. He pulled on my shirt, begging me to stay. "Miss Deema, please don't leave us!" Like countless other refugees, Ibrahim had already suffered tremendously; he had too many people come into his life only to leave him, and he did not want to lose another. While I had the privilege of returning to my home, …show more content…
The goal of this new initiative is to advise younger students on how they can become leaders on campus and eventually help impact larger communities. As I take these small steps towards my objective, I hope to continue to build my skills and one day create non-governmental educational institutions in conflict zones and refugee camps. The children I met in Turkey taught me a valuable lesson that I know will be an essential component to whatever path is destined for me: I must strive to be the change I wish to see in the