About Refugees, By Refugees
Feras Halabi
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“My dream was to be successful in anything that would help me improve my financial situation,”says Feras Halabi (pseud, 14) when reflecting on her journey as a refugee, which brought her to the UK in 2017. When asked what prompted her family to leave their “main country,” she explains simply: “War.” Once on the plane to Britain, she recalls, “I dreamed of finding the best job opportunity available.” Being somewhere she didn’t speak the language was difficult, but she says that at her school in London, “My friend always helped me and used to sit next to me in all classes and help me with everything, explaining everything, lessons, etc., and helped me excel in school.” Now, she says, “I have friends and I have adapted to the new circumstances perfectly.” She spends much of her time playing games, but describes “painting and talking to my friends” as things that make her happy. Of her current dream, she says, “My dream is to memorize the Quran.”
full interview
Who do you live with?
With my family.
What kind of house do you live in?
The house consists of three floors.
How do you spend your time here?
Playing games.
Not just at home, in your life here in Britain in general, how?
Most of my time is in school.
Well, what are the things that make you feel happy?
Painting and talking to my friends.
What was life like since it first arrived in Europe? What are the positive things you have faced and what are the difficulties?
The main difficulty is that I do not know the language. I have not been able to understand the words of people around me. There is a big difference between this country and our main country. The good thing is that everything is there, everything is available.
How did you overcome these difficulties?
Mostly it is school that helped me to speak English.
Well, can you describe how you feel or feel living here, you talked about language difficulties and that everything is new. How were you able to overcome these difficulties? What were you doing personally?
My friend always helped me and used to sit next to me in all classes and help me with everything, explaining everything, lessons, etc., and helped me excel in school.
How has the Covid-19 situation affected you personally on your feelings and your daily life?
The fact that we can no longer attend school has had a significant influence on my day-to-day existence. Teaching online was not as helpful as what we learned in the classroom. I couldn’t leave the house, so I was bored.
Why did you leave your country?
War.
If I asked you before you left your country or before leaving Jordan, considering that you had lived there long enough, what were you dreaming of? What would you have answered me?
My dream was to be successful in anything that would help me improve my financial situation.
The moment you are on the plane and heading to Britain, what was your dream for the future? What did you dream of the future?
I dreamed of finding the best job opportunity available.
Well, before you left Jordan or Syria, what were your personal strengths?
(No response).
You went through a lot of difficulties, whether with the subject of language, the subject of coming to Britain, or others. Do you feel that you have grown up or are aware of the result of these difficulties that you have experienced, and have you been able to overcome them? Have there been any other positive results?
Sure, I have friends and I have adapted to the new circumstances perfectly.
If I ask you today, what is your current dream, what do you say?
My dream is to become … I don’t know.
There is nothing necessary in your field of study. Any dream of the future is like your dream of being successful or anything else.
My dream is to memorize the Quran.
Ok, thank you very much.
Many 1000 Dreams interviews were not conducted in English. Their translation has not always been performed by professional translators. Despite great efforts to ensure accuracy, there may be errors.