As violence escalated, Um Obeyda and her husband agreed he should flee Syria to seek refuge in Jordan. Left in Syria with her children and a newborn baby, Um Obeyda attempted several times to make the harrowing journey into Jordan. After numerous failed attempts, a local driver was finally able to bring them safely through …
Um Merwa describes the routine terror felt before fleeing Syria. “I would fear for my husband, that someone would take him. I would fear for my children, fear of kidnapping and rape.” After witnessing open fire and murders, they fled. Free from war, Um Merwa continues to live in a state of perpetual fear. She …
Um Amer recounts the fear that terrorized her before fleeing Syria. “They started searching houses, killing and slaughtering… stopping women and children and killing them. My husband said, ‘We can’t keep on like this, I have sons and daughters.’ He was afraid for them.” Now in Jordan, she describes the close relationship the knitting group …
Um Mohammed’s two cousins, two nephews, son, and husband were all killed in the Syrian war. She remembers feeling utter desperation when first arriving in Jordan. Alone, isolated, and hopeless, she confesses “sometimes I thought it would be easier if I were dead. I couldn’t provide for our needs. Life was very hard by myself.” …
Um Abdu’s brother was tragically shot and killed in the war. When asked of the impact the Syrian war has had on her life, she expresses, “I am choking inside….I’ve lost my father, mother and brother.” She nearly lost one of her daughters on the rough, chaotic trek to Jordan and tears up recounting the …