This article was written by Hadia ElNagdi,
iACT Refugee Program Assistant and AmeriCorps Member

All names in the story have been changed to protect student privacy.

From Daraa, the Syrian city that lit the Syrian revolution, came Manal. A soft spoken woman with a warm smile, Manal arrived to Austin four months ago along with her family including; her elderly mother, her husband and their three kids. In Syria she left behind everything; her memories, friends and neighbors, her home and belongings, her oldest daughter and her son’s grave.

Manal’s oldest son was only 23 years old when he was killed in an airstrikes by the Syrian military. The young man was about to finish his 18 months mandatory military service in the Syrian army when the revolution started. He witnessed how soldiers and Syrian regime-affiliated “thugs” engaged in killing, theft and vandalizing his city in revenge for rising against president Bashar al-Assad. The uprising in Daraa happened after a group of teenagers under 15 were arrested for writing anti Assad graffiti. The children were kept for several weeks, tortured and returned, some still alive, others dead. It didn’t take her son long before he decided to defect and join the opposition –  also known as Free Syrian Army. “He wasn’t the only one who made that choice, many other young men decided to take the same step” said Manal. A few weeks later he was killed.

The loss of her oldest son wasn’t the only reason that Manal fled her country. Her two teen aged boys, 18 and 19 at the time, were also kidnapped by one of the armed groups. They kept them for three harrowing weeks and were only released after their father paid a ransom. Lack of safety and security had left most Syrian cities controlled by thugs and criminals, “so when they took my sons I didn’t believe that I will be able to see them again healthy and sound.”

After Manal reunited with her two sons, their city faced repeated airstrikes that obliterated buildings and engulfed neighborhoods in flames killing hundreds of people. The family decided to move to the Damascus countryside. They had some family members there and thought that it would be safe and quiet.  Things didn’t work the way they hoped and soon they found themselves forced to move for the second, then the third, time after the Syrian government decided draft all Syrian males and force them to the battle front to make up for their military losses. Even those who completed the required 18 months were forced to remain in military service.

For that reason the family decided to escape Syria and move to Al Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. It is the largest Syrian refugee camp in the world with more than 81,000 residents. Life in the camp was extremely difficult. There they lived in a tent with no electricity or running water and had to share a bathroom and kitchen with other families. Unable to bear the harsh life of the refugee camp the family moved to Amman, the capital of Jordan, where they rented a home and lived for three years before resettling in the US.

Finally the family were able to move to US as refugees where they are all looking for a new start. Manal’s two sons are currently working and planning to go back to school soon. Her youngest daughter is in iACT’s classes working toward her GED. Her dream is to become a psychiatrist. Despite the current government efforts to ban Muslim refugees, Manal said that she is feeling welcome everywhere they go. “Yesterday at HEB three ladies stopped us and asked if we were refugees. When they realized that we are Syrian, they hugged me and cried.”

Manal said that same situation happened to her daughter, “You can’t be afraid or worried when you are surrounded by such great people who show their support without even knowing who you are.”

Manal’s biggest dream and most fervent prayer is to reunite with her oldest daughter, whom she hasn’t seen in 4 years, and is still living with in Damascus, Syria. Other than that she is thankful her family in Austin are well and thriving.