Sharing my story with Londoners has inspired me to tell the world, says Syrian refugee

Fresh outlook: Azeh, another beneficiary of the War Child programme, sits with Hanin, centre
Bel Trew
Bel Trew22 November 2018

It is hard to imagine that the eloquent schoolgirl talking a packed room through her anti-child marriage campaign was just a few years ago so shaken by the war she fled that she could barely speak.

But Hanin, 16, a refugee who escaped Syria for Za’atari camp in Jordan, has set her sights on becoming a foreign correspondent to “challenge stereotypes” about her country, which has been ravaged by a seven-year conflict.

The smiling teenager credits psychosocial support and advocacy programmes run by War Child with her emotional change.

But the main driver behind her career choice has been the past two months when she had her first taste of international journalism.

Through a twinning programme run by the Evening Standard and War Child, Hanin said she was able to communicate the story of her life and the challenges she and her peers face with an unlikely foreign audience: Hornsey School for Girls in Crouch End.

Future foreign correspondent: Hanin said she wants to fight against stereotypes of her country through journalism
Bel Trew

Since the summer, the girls from Za’atari and their peers in London have been sharing stories, discussing inspirational women and carrying out art projects together.

Hornsey is one of the British schools that took part in the Learn to Live campaign which paired children who have lived through conflict with their British counterparts to bring about change.

“It has inspired me to change and challenge stereotypes, to make a better kind of journalism,” Hanin told the Standard from the War Child school room in the heart of Za’atari, which is home to 80,000 people.

There, inside the centre built out of metal sheeting and dotted with colourful drawings, Hanin has taken part in War Child’s VoiceMore advocacy programme, which offer a space for young people to identify and tackle the problems they face.

It is through VoiceMore that the girls ran surveys in the camp and identified child labour and early marriage as two main issues they face.

But it was the Standard’s twinning scheme and the reaction she saw in London resulting from it that Hanin realised the impact telling these stories to the outside world might have.

“We were surprised and happy they were interested,” she said, her face lighting up. “When I’m carrying a camera, I feel like I am carrying my value. I love writing articles. I have learnt the idea of not being afraid to speak out to tell the truth.

“Without the psychological support I would have been at home. I wouldn’t have risked going outside or mingling with people. I am an introvert, but people here gave me support so I slowly crawled out of my shell.”

The five other girls in the room all agree with Hanin about the impact of the programme.

They discuss everything from wanting to launch tech start-ups to running for political office, with a maturity startling for a group so young. Haya, 16, who was chosen to speak at a child-led discussion on human rights at the UN headquarters in Geneva in September, said she wants to be Syria’s first female president.

She is now so convinced by VoiceMore and the psychosocial support programme, she thinks it should be an integral part of the school curriculum in the UK. She was shocked that the Hornsey girls shared so many similar concerns, such as street harassment.

“I think psychosocial support is essential for everyone whenever they are in a weak spot,” she said.

Dina, 15, agreed. “I think what surprised us the most about this whole experience is realising how similar the girls in London are to us,” she said.

War Child employees fear that emotional support for displaced children and their parents is not considered part of emergency responses to conflict. But without it, there can be devastating consequences, potentially causing domestic violence in the future.

That is why, since September, the Evening Standard has teamed up with War Child to link British schools with children like these refugees in Jordan to lobby for a sea-change in attitudes to vital emotional support systems.

Join our campaign: how you can help

Schools that want their pupils to write to the Prime Minister should go to www.warchild.org.uk/what-we-do/campaigns/learn-to-live

Teachers who want to join our project can go to www.warchild.org.uk/learntolive

For information about twinning your school, visit: www.britishcouncil.org/connectingclassrooms

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