Samiah, is a 16-year old girl, originally from Bokamal, Deir- Ez-Zor. When she was 11 years old, her life turned upside down as ISIS took control over Bokamal. She lived with her family for five years in extremely difficult conditions and many of her relatives passed away. She was forced to leave school, and stay home for months losing contact with her friends, neighbours, and relatives.
“I missed three years of school,” said Samiah, “All schools were closed and we were not able to continue our education anywhere.” Samiah and her family left Bokamal and were displaced first to Sweida and then to Homs city.
“My goal is to become a pharmacist and my dream is to be a writer”
In Homs, Samiah instantly started going to school. However, as a 9th-grade student, she found it extremely difficult to study after being out of school for three years. She became depressed as her hope of pursuing her studies seemed impossible to achieve. “I was shocked when I started school again,” said Samiah, “I did not understand the subjects of physics, chemistry and French”. Samiah was almost giving up on school and then she visited the UNHCR community centre, run by Aoun, where she was offered to attend catch-up and remedial courses.
She enrolled in the Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP) and through these studies, she managed to succeed in the 9th-grade national exam which gave her an opportunity to complete her studies. “My goal is to be accepted into University and become a pharmacist and my dream is to be a writer,” said Samiah.
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