Meet the Syrian Mom Faced with an Impossible Choice
Sabah, a 35-year-old mother of four, never wanted to leave Damascus, Syria. She had heard countless horror stories about the journey to Turkey and Europe — dishonest smugglers who tip off the police and refugees imprisoned, women and girls abused and raped, people drowned in the sea crossing from Turkey to Greece. But with civil war still ravaging her country, she made an impossible choice in January 2016: she fled with her children so that they can experience life, childhood, a future.
I met Sabah while she was getting food and water for her family at Camp Moria in Lesvos, Greece. It was her first day in Europe. All she had in her possession was one plastic bag filled with her children’s clothes, one hairbrush, and a few toiletries. Sabah breaks down as she recounts the ordeal she went through with a smuggler who repeatedly lied and misled her as he took the family across borders from Syria to Turkey, and then Turkey to Greece. Her story is unfortunately and frighteningly common.
Today commences the first ever World Humanitarian Summit, a 2-day event that is meant to help refugees like Sabah. This very moment in Istanbul, Turkey, world leaders are convening to “stand up for our common humanity and take action to prevent and reduce human suffering.” The planet now has the largest number of displaced peoples ever recorded, and more than half are children. How effective the summit will be in aiding those who are in Sabah’s shoes remains to be seen.
One thing is clear — Sabah is a hero and her story deserves to be shared.
Shelley Cheung is the director/producer of She Is Syria, a multimedia documentary project that tells the stories of women and girl refugees. It has been featured in Marie Claire, Refinery29, Bust, and New York Post. Shelley’s passion is creating content that impacts the way we interact with our communities.
Get involved and take action. Visit United Nations’ Impossible Choices campaign.
