From the greenery to the desert

I met Liene in Jordan back in 2015 at a church and we instantly became great friends. We have fun memories together and I am so grateful to know her. She is full of joy, love & kindness.

Photo credit: Paula Zveja 

Q: Tell us a bit about yourself 

A: My name is Liene Svoka, I come from a small country up in the north just called Latvia (one of the three Baltic States which is right next to the Baltic Sea). If you know where Sweden and Norway are - then we are under them. Yeah I was born in Latvia but in 2015 I went to Jordan for three months and somehow I got stuck over there. I now live in Jordan and as I say to people I am 21 years old with some experience. I’ve been 21 for a while *laughs*. Well, I don’t know if age is very important - age is just a number. All that matters is what's in the person that is carrying this number, right?

Now I am full time mom, because I have got a little handsome boy to raise. He’s four months old so the last four months I have been busy with him. But before then, I was teaching English in Jordan and before Jordan I was also working as a teacher in Latvia.

I’ve been teaching for quite a while. I knew that I would be a teacher since I remember myself. I just knew that’s the thing I wanna do and that’s what I do. So probably when Leo is old enough for him to stay with some other people, I most likely will go back to teaching.

Q: Liene, what was your first impression on Jordan when you visited for the first time back in 2015?

A: When we [Liene and her friend Illona] arrived to Jordan in 2015, the first thing we did, we were taken to a place to eat which was something at 1:00AM. So the first impression was like ‘does this city ever sleep?’ because all the places were open, the streets were loud and busy and we could get any food, anywhere.

So yeah the first impression was ya bayeh this is a place that never stops moving. And once we saw it in the daylight, it was also very loud.

But later on, once we started meeting the people, then the first impression was that they are super welcoming, hospitable and kind. Because everybody was just inviting us everywhere, all the time. So much food - so much food. So yeah the Jordanians were very generous and kind.

Q: Can you share a certain experience that impacted you in a positive way?

A: There have been some really tough moments where I have been walking around my neighbourhood – because that’s what I do almost every day – I just love walking. Especially now that I have a baby, I find it so important to take him out in the fresh air – although not so fresh. But if you go in the morning then it’s still kind of okay. And I get so much attention. This attention is not always good – hardly it’s ever good. I get all kinds of stares, people honk, and people say some strange words in English just to get my attention.

And I remember one day, I had been walking in the afternoon when all the school kids are on the street and there are more people on the streets and you just get more attention, more stares and more of everything. I was walking and crying, to be honest, because I felt like I don’t belong there so badly.

As I was walking back home, I was trying to get as fast as possible. I just felt like I’m on stage where everyone is just eating me with their eyes. And then there were three young girls who were fully covered in Burqa. They looked at me and all I could see were their eyes. I looked at them and I could see they were smiling – I could see the smile with their eyes and they greeted me with true kindness.

I was so surprised, I thought the people that would seem the least close to me – you know, we’re so different; I am blond girl without a cover and they are all covered in black cloth – I can’t see anything but their eyes. But here I am all sad about the attention from all the different people. And those who were the most different, they greeted and treated me with respect, kindness. 

"Though it was a small moment but it was a healing moment for me and it meant a lot."

Q: What is one place you’d recommend to anybody visiting Jordan? Is it your favorite place?

A: There are quite a lot of places that have to be visited and I have had quite a lot of friends who’d come to visit me but then they also visit all the beautiful places in Jordan.

As number one I’d recommend Wadi Rum- the Wadi Rum desert. To spend at least one night out there in the desert in a camp. You can rent tent from Bedouins, just to see sky full of stars, to ride the camels and to ride a jeep through desert and to hear the Bedouins sing. It’s a wonderful experience. Yes, I’d say Wadi Rum is my favourite place to be.

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More than just a number

Photo credit: Nick Hillier on Unsplash

In October 2014, my family and I left our home country Iraq, due to the war, and temporarily moved to Jordan. By temporarily I mean almost three years . . . 2 years and 10 months to be specific.

Life in Jordan wasn’t easy. We woke up every single day hoping to receive a call from the Australian embassy. There is nothing more stressful than living your life not knowing where you’ll end up. Not having control over your situation. Having other people (with authority) decide whether you should or should not be accepted into the country.

Imagine wasting three years of your life in the unknown, waiting in hopes that something eventually happens. As a family we spent those years in depression and sadness. We were tired . . .  Our souls weakened . . . there was barely any strength left in us. This wasn’t just our case, but the case of thousands of other families.

Treated less than

Why is that as human beings we tend to use our power to manipulate others rather than help them? Why is it that we tend to boast about it and not use it for good? Why is it that we tend to think we are better than the rest when we own the power and authority?

We had refugee status in Jordan and we were treated like them. You might guess that’s a good thing – being treated as a refugee – but really it isn’t. Some people walk all over you. People always took advantage of refugees, both Iraqis and Syrians, because to them we are the “weaker” group and the citizens have got the power over us. It’s a disgusting feeling. I don’t understand why people always feel the need to use their power in harmful ways. I don’t just mean physically, but also mentally. We’ve been treated disrespectfully many times but there was nothing in our hands that we could do. We just had to swallow it and move on.

 It is heartbreaking that some people look at refugees as just numbers. Like, “100 died, 2000 live in camps, 500 escaped, and 300 are in injured and etc.” the list goes on with the numbers. Refugees are people and they are NOT less than anybody else.

Girls with dreams

The numbers you hear about have stories to share. They’ve got dreams and goals just like you and me. They want to live a happy and healthy life. They want to become successful and make their families proud.   

Within the numbers you hear about all the time, are girls our age with same talents and abilities, except they live in camps.

They are girls with dreams, girls with visions, and girls with amazing stories to tell. But they are also girls with broken hearts, girls with wounded soul, and girls with shattered dreams.

During my time in the wilderness, I felt hopeless and helpless. There were times where I felt like there is no point to my existence. I could hear my dreams falling and shattering into pieces  . . .  it was painful sound. I always wondered if I’ll ever feel alive again. Always wondered if I’ll ever be able to witness hope again. Always wondered if I’ll achieve my dreams one day.

Here I am now, sharing my story with you. News talks about numbers – I’ll talk about HUMANS.