Syrian Refugee – the real story
Trigger warning – this article makes reference to trauma and war
In her own words Dana tells you her personal story of escaping Syria as a refugee as a child to arriving in England.
My name is Dana and I live in Brighton but I am originally from Damascus in Syria. I have cerebral palsy and use a wheelchair.
When I was 6 years old the war started in Syria with the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad killing poor Syrian people. The Russians sent weapons, bombs, troops and aircraft to help him. Bombs were dropped all over the country and it became very dangerous and frightening to be there.
Before the war started life was very good. Food was cheap and the country was beautiful. We had everything we needed. When the war started everything changed and life became very hard.
Assad made everything expensive so people couldn't afford to eat. He then sent bombs and people lost their houses and became homeless. He also arrested people for saying things against him and took them to prison.
One evening, when everyone was at home and sleeping, suddenly Assad dropped chemical gas to kill people. Everyone got out and some people were running. My Grandad and Grandma came over in my Grandad's taxi. My Mum gave me and my sister a blanket with vinegar on to cover our faces, so that we couldn't smell the gas so much. We escaped in the taxi to Ghouta where our family lived. After one day we had sore eyes, we could not see. I was in a lot of pain. We all stayed in bed for 2 days because we could not feel anything. We were able to go home after a few more days to collect clothes but our house had been bombed.
We stayed with my Grandparents in Damascus. After 10 weeks my Grandad told us that we should escape to Lebanon, but he said we couldn't go altogether. My Aunt, my Grandma and my cousin left first but the rest of us had to wait 2 more weeks before we could escape. We had to walk a long way to reach Lebanon and my Grandad had to carry me.
One day, my Grandad was carrying me to cross a road and a man threw a bomb towards us. My Grandad was running quickly because he wanted to save me from the bomb. My mum and sister were standing on the road, and they ran towards us. My mum gave me a big hug and took from my Grandad. Some people died from being hit by the bomb.
Once we reached Lebanon, we stayed there for 2 years and then finally left for England. When we came to England, I started to go to school which I hadn't been able to do before. My disability is much better now I have lots of support. I have somewhere safe to live and I am doing well in college with my studies.
For more information on the Syrian war
You can read about the Syrian war for more information on various internet sites, such as Why has the Syrian war lasted 11 years? - BBC News.
If you are affected or feel affected by this story you can contact your student wellbeing team for support:
A range of refugee support services and other services can be found here: