Voices of the Youth: Azraq Refugee Camp, Jordan

Having to flee the war, coming here — all of this — the situation changes your dreams.

Even in Syria my hopes and dreams were limited. When I was young I wanted a better life than what we were living. I lived in a rural area in south Damascus, with only a few random houses, limited services, and other youth who were getting themselves into trouble. I didn’t want to be like them — I dreamed of being a better person, I dreamed of improving my life.

The greatest challenge I have faced was the abrupt break in my studies. My love of learning is just who I am. It’s part of my personality. But because of the war, I couldn’t finish my studies. In Jordan, I had to work to survive. Besides, there was no grade 12 class available for us at that time. Now the Jordanian Ministry of Education and UNHCR will begin offering Tawjihi (grade 12 diploma exams) for Syrians in the camp. I’ll apply for this, for sure.

Because of our circumstances today, my future isn’t clear, but I’m prepared for any opportunity.

I am a positive person. I’m a critical thinker. I think carefully about what I should or shouldn’t do, and about things that are wrong and need to be changed. I believe one of the main challenges we face as a community, at times, is our hypocrisy — our society judges things one way, despite at times being a participant in it.

In the past, I’ve provided film workshops for kids in the camp — but this time with CARE I wasn’t teaching it, but participating. Every element of the workshop was powerful, from the script writing and production, to the young actors. In the workshops that I lead, the students are always children, without the same experience and advanced skills. It was different having this level of experience and with professionals from Hollywood.

I don’t expect my films to stop or change politicians, or to make them care more about us. We’re in the refugee camp as a consequence of their actions. But even though I can’t influence them in bringing about a political solution — which is what we require now — I prefer to focus on influencing my community. I want to encourage social awareness on issues like early child marriage, child labor, and violence in the community.

In the past, I made a short film called, “Bad Heritage”, about families forcing girls to drop out of school and marry early. This is something we get from our heritage, a time when the world was more closed. There was no other future for girls than to marry. Everything has changed, though. We are better educated. We have the internet. We have to change, too.