March 8: the Story of Maisa Salih, Journalist and Founder of the SAMAR Association
Contrary to popular belief, migration is strongly female. In 2020, women accounted for 51.6% of European migrants. Yet women newcomers are often overlooked when it comes to drawing up migration policies, and are hardly visible in the public arena or in the media. To mark International Women’s Rights Day, SINGA is giving a voice to newcomer women to make their stories visible, so that they can take possession of the public arena and highlight the projects they have launched.
Maisa Salih is a Syrian journalist, specialist in women’s issues and founder of the SAMAR association.
Could you briefly introduce yourself?
I’m a committed woman, trying to understand the new world around me and my place in it. I love photography, walking in nature and dogs. I’m Maisa Salih, a Syrian journalist specializing in coverage of women’s issues and gender-sensitive journalism. I graduated with a Master’s degree in journalism from the Ecole supérieure de journalisme in Paris in 2023. I have worked in visual and audio journalism, and now I am a freelance journalist, writing for several websites and media platforms, as well as the founder of the SAMAR association.
When did you arrive in France, and from which country?
I came to France five years ago from Syria via Turkey.
What were the main difficulties you encountered when you arrived? Do you think these difficulties were exacerbated by the fact that you are a woman?
It’s a complex question that can’t be answered simply. In short, the difficulties we face as refugee women are interconnected, complex and numerous, starting with the idea of “starting over”. The idea of starting again is frightening, difficult, and means that you are heading into the unknown without any tools to help you, especially after having lived through a devastating war experience on both a personal and collective level.
For me, starting over meant reliving many of the battles I thought I’d already overcome as a woman (such as material stability, relying on my skills, work, defending my personal freedom, building a network of secure relationships, roles and stereotypes, etc.). However, starting from scratch in the context of migration, asylum and exile means starting your life on the margins of society, finding yourself having to work hard to be visible and heard in a new community, a new language, and the absence of a network of supportive social relationships.
Rebuilding everything from scratch, carrying the burden and trauma of war and leaving your past, identity, family and friends behind, requires a great deal of support, solidarity, empowerment and strength to overcome these challenges and set foot on firm ground in the country that welcomes you.
As a woman, a refugee and an Arabic speaker, the difficulties take on a different form and make settling in more difficult, due to the discrimination, stereotypes and perceptions that surround us, which are intertwined with the fact that we are women from Arabic-speaking regions, directly or indirectly, in our relationship with governmental and non-governmental institutions, in the way they treat us and the discourse they hold towards us.
How did you have the idea for your entrepreneurial project?
The idea for the SAMAR project came mainly from my personal experience and the experiences of the women around me with asylum, the challenges we face and the efforts we make to be heard and visible in our new societies. Above all, the idea came from the lack of media platforms or common spaces for women to tell their stories and experiences of exile, the difficulties and challenges they face, and the analysis and deconstruction of immigration, asylum and integration policies from a feminist perspective or through the experiences of women themselves.
SAMAR’s idea was to create this space to provide Arabic-speaking refugee women with the skills they need to write and express themselves in their mother tongue.
In addition, SAMAR seeks to enable women to be active in changing their reality by providing a safe, shared space to discuss this reality, deconstruct it and try to find solutions based on their own experiences. A prerequisite for the success of this platform is that these analyses are presented in the form of recommendations to decision-makers for improving women’s living conditions in the context of asylum and integration.
We also believe it is necessary for these stories and experiences to find their place in the digital world, which is why we are also looking to have audio and visual content that amplifies women’s voices and makes them visible and audible.
How has SINGA helped you?
Le soutien de SINGA a commencé le jour où ils ont accepté le projet, ils y ont cru et m’ont invitée à le développer avec eux à travers leur programme d’incubation pour les entrepreneurs. Depuis, SINGA a été un compagnon de route positif et de soutien, à travers toute son équipe et surtout les femmes qui ont offert un soutien véritable et inconditionnel. Ils m’ont aidée à surmonter la tension de ne pas parler couramment le français, ils m’ont offert un espace dans leurs bureaux pour commencer les ateliers d’écriture et les activités du projet, et ont fourni tout le soutien logistique nécessaire pour mener à bien ces ateliers.
Most importantly, they have been the key to creating a network of support and solidarity.
To find out more about SINGA Lyon: @singa_lyon
What are you most proud of today?
What I’m most proud of is that this project is named SAMAR, in memory of Samar Saleh, a feminist activist kidnapped by Daesh in 2013. She is my little sister, and I think she would be proud to have the project named after her, allowing women to feel safe to share their stories and try to change their reality within an association that bears her name. I’m also proud to have felt the positive change, solidarity and support that this project has brought to the lives of many of the women who have taken part so far.
What are your dreams and plans for the future?
Of course, I have big dreams linked mainly to my SAMAR project, where I aspire for my voice and that of women to be heard, for refugee and immigrant women to be visible, powerful and competent in their new societies. I want them to be able to lead their lives in a reality that is fairer in every respect, particularly in terms of justice, equal opportunities, economic and social equity, so that they can be capable of change, without feeling weak and marginalized once again after fleeing their countries of origin.
What message would you like to pass on to other newcomer women? If you had any advice for a woman who has just arrived, what would you tell her?
The experience of exile, asylum and integration is difficult and exhausting, and it’s not fair to go through it and face these challenges alone. Always look for other supportive and compassionate women to help you stay strong and on your feet. Reality isn’t fair, especially for women who face layers of marginalization and discrimination. Of course, it can be improved, but that requires us to be initiators of change, to refuse to adapt to it, if we have the strength, energy and will to do so.
At SINGA, we work to liberate and highlight the strength and potential of newcomer women. 53% of the people we support are women. By supporting SINGA, you are helping to support and empower hundreds of newcomer women every year, fostering a world where everyone, regardless of gender or background, can flourish and fulfill their dreams!
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Interview as part of SINGA Global’s campaign to raise awareness of International Women’s Rights Day on 8 March 2024.
To learn more about SINGA and support us > https://www.helloasso.com/associations/singa-global
