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.