Yamama, a girl from Syria
December 5, 2020Memories … .Lebanon - Dec 06, 2013
“It doesn’t matter if I am going to school in a tent, what matters is that I am going to school.”
I met Yamama in an informal refugee camp for Syrians in Lebanon. Due to intense war around her village, Yamama, along with her mother and elder brother left Idlib, leaving behind three other siblings with her father. She now lives with her mother, brother, and extended family – a total of 15 people in one tent.
Sometimes you meet someone that makes you feel as somebody has literally taken your heart out of your body and squeezed it. That’s how I felt when I met Yamama. She looked like a ballet dancer; completely out of place washing dishes in her torn tent. She was so likable, so beautiful, and so vulnerable, I wish I could do something for her, perhaps adopt her. Yet, I knew better. She had parents, siblings, and family. What happened to her should never have happened. We as a society failed her along with thousands of Syrian children like her. We have allowed the conflict in Syria to happen and to continue.
She said, “My school in Syria was nice, I used to have a really good teacher, and I liked him very much. I did really well in school; I used to pass all my exams and get full marks. Here I go to school in a tent. In Syria, my school was in a building with separate classes for big and small children. It doesn’t matter if I am going to school in a tent, what matters is that I am going to school. Going to school is nice, even
here in the camp.”