Syrian refugee in Durham tells us his journey of escaping conflict

It's part of a UK for UNHCR campaign

Author: Karen LiuPublished 27th Nov 2023
Last updated 27th Nov 2023

We are hearing from a Syrian refugee in Durham who fled to Lebanon before being resettled to the UK five years ago.

When he was just 13 years-old Maysara fled from his village of Idlib to Lebanon, putting his education and dreams on hold.

Now at the age of 24, he is in his final year at Durham University studying international relations and political science.

Maysara said: "It was a very tough decision and very hard. Growing up in a place you've lived your whole life it was home but we had no other choice. We went to Lebanon and it was so hard for me especially because I was 13. I left school and then I immediately went to Lebanon.

"I couldn't restart school there to get back to education because it was very expensive. I left my country in underwear actually so we weren't able to carry anything with us, so I had to go there and at this age I had to start working so I could support my family with rent and all these other things.

"At the time it just seemed like it was the end of life. That's it. Would I actually live after? Hearing all these bombs around you.

"My village was literally in the frontline where there were people from both sides fighting each other. Hearing all these bombs, the airstrikes, the sounds of these tanks moving, you just feel like 'that's it. There's no future. If I survive this and live, it's amazing.'

"When you actually have a life and everything's going great and then your life dramatically changes from having a life to nothing, so it was hard for me.

"I came here with literally no English at all. Not even one word, not even the alphabet. It was so hard and then I came here and I thought 'oh my God, this is a different language.' It took me three or four months, just waking up in the morning and then crying. I couldn't even go and say 'hi, how are you?' to someone."

UK for UNHCR campaign

UK for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency's national charity partner for the UK, says as temperatures drop, millions of refugees and people forced to flee will face a brutal winter far from home.

Displaced families living in informal tented settlements and damaged buildings in Afghanistan Ukraine and in countries neighbouring Syria have little protection from freezing temperatures, rain and snow, putting them at risk of hypothermia, frostbite and fatal respiratory diseases.

Others will struggle to keep warm in buildings without power and exposed to the elements due to shelling amidst sub-zero temperatures.

The charity has launched a series of illustrative refugee portraits titled ‘Beyond the Headlines’ captured by photographer and author Pattie Boyd, in support of its Winter Appeal.

UK for UNHCR hopes that the series will encourage us to look beyond the stories we may have seen of refugees and ask them to consider the real lives of these individuals, who were forced to flee their homes.

Six people from Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine, who have found refuge in the UK after fleeing war and persecution are featured throughout the images. Each has been photographed with a newspaper featuring a genuine headline directly related to their story to show the very personal and human stories of real refugees ‘Beyond the Headlines.’

For its Winter campaign, UK for UNHCR is raising funds to provide essential support, such as blankets, fuel and emergency cash assistance, to families forced to flee war and crisis in Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine, and who remain displaced across these regions.

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