Lama* is a Syrian refugee living in the north of Lebanon with her three children.
“I was happy in Syria before I came here. My favourite thing was my home and university studies. Everything was just great,” she said.
“I like to tell people that Syria was the most wonderful country in the world. It was so beautiful. Not now though, which is so sad.
“There was lots of bombs going off. That’s why we left the city to seek freedom. We fled to safety to several different places. Lebanon was the last. I was not afraid of death, but the conflict and the bombs terrified me.”
All of Lama’s family are now living in Lebanon and are too afraid to return to Syria any time soon.
“I hope things will be better in the future,” she said.
In recent months, Lama has been attending embroidery classes with fellow refugees. Not only does she find it a fun pastime, but she hopes it might lead into a profession for her.
“Concern is helping me by giving me valuable embroidery training. I’m learning new skills every day. I would like to open a small embroidery and sewing business in the ITS [Informal Tented Settlement] I am living in,” she said.
“If that happens, I would earn money myself to help my family and I wouldn’t need the help of anyone else. I could feed my children and buy things for them all by myself.”
Lama says it’s important to say yes to every opportunity that comes your way, since you never know when the next one will come.
*All names have been changed for safety and security reasons