Fadi
Fadi, 24, is from Inkhil in Daraa Governorate, south-west Syria. He fled his homeland in November 2012 when he was 14 years old.
Daraa Governorate faced violent conflict during the first years of the Syrian war, with many civilians losing their lives. Housing, the economy and infrastructure was severely damaged.
Fadi sought refuge in neighbouring Jordan and has been residing in Zaatari refugee camp ever since he arrived in the country.
Zaatari is the world’s largest refugee camp for Syrians. It has grown into a sort of city, with rows of thousands of caravans. It’s located in a flat desert landscape. It was originally built as a temporary camp for those seeking safety. But more than 10 years on, around 80,000 people are still living there.
Fadi says that he is not familiar with World Refugee Day.
“Honestly, my knowledge about World Refugee Day is not extensive. But I know that it is a day to celebrate refugees, or have activities related to refugees. But honestly, I don’t have much information about it.
“And honestly, for me, the word refugee is a sad word. It signifies that I, as a person, was forced to leave my country against my will. I had to leave the country where I grew up and was born and go to another country.”
Fadi feels that it’s important for people to know about the challenges that refugees face.
“These difficulties can include providing food and drink for their families, securing the household expenses and securing an education.
“Here is Zaatari camp, one of the major challenges is that educational scholarships are not available. It’s very challenging for us. If there were scholarships available then we could have engineers, doctors, nurses and teachers. This generation, which is supposed to build the future, has been lost. So, for me, the biggest challenge is that I am unable to continue my life and education so that I can secure a future for the next generation.
“But for me, any experience in life has something positive. Regarding the life of a refugee, they may gradually adapt to the fact that life is not always a straight line and it is not always easy. Sometimes, we are forced to live through things or situations that we are not accustomed to. This means that we gain experience, we gain life skills.
“Sometimes, one may have opportunities that were not available under normal circumstances. For example, personally, I had the opportunities to take many courses here that I wouldn’t have been able to learn in Syria. These courses were offered by the Norwegian Refugee Council, so it would have been very difficult for me to learn them in Syria.”
Is there a message you would like to send to the world on this occasion?
“I would like to send a message to the world. To be with refugees and help them. The refugees or the Syrian refugee youth. These are people with high ambitions who are capable of achieving great things. We are capable of learning and developing ourselves, but we need the opportunity.
“We need people to give us the chance.”
Fadi is a courageous advocate for refugees. Will you be one too?
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