A view of the destruction in Zain’s hometown of Daraa, Syria, in August 2015

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Common Core: RH.6-8.1, RH.6-8.2, RH.6-8.5, RI.6-8.7, RI.6-8.10, WHST.6-8.9

C3 (D2): Eco.1, Eco.2, His.1, His.4

NCSS: Production, distribution, and consumption; Science, technology, and society

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Escape from a War Zone

Since 2011, more than 4.5 million people have fled brutal violence in Syria. Zain, 16, tells JS what it’s like to be one of them.

April 4, 2016
By Zain Shouman, as told to Kim Tranell

All I remember is hearing loud bangs and then dropping to the ground. 

I was 13 at the time, just a typical teenager. It was cold in our house, so I had taken my 2-year-old cousin down to the entryway, hoping we could step outside to get a little sun and warm up. 

But as soon as I felt the sunlight on my face, I heard the gunshots. I pulled my cousin close and shielded him on the ground, where we lay trembling.

I wondered: Will we survive, or will we die right here? Those were the kinds of thoughts running through my head for a full 15 minutes, until I realized the gunfire had stopped.

That was the day my family finally decided to leave Syria. And though I didn’t know it then, we were leaving for good.

A PEACEFUL LIFE

Growing up in Syria, my life was normal and happy. I’m from Daraa, a city in the southwest part of the country, and I lived in a house with my mom, Nsrin, who worked as an accountant, and my younger brother, Ali. (My father passed away when I was 9.) 

Our neighborhood was full of people and very lively. You would always see families walking and kids playing in the street. I can’t remember ever being scared for my safety. 

In fact, Syria was such a safe and stable country that refugees would come to Daraa to escape violence or unrest in their homelands. Every day at school, I studied with students from war-ravaged places, like Iraq and Palestine. Now I’m one of them, and I never expected that to happen. 

Jim McMahon/Mapman®

TORN APART BY WAR

In 2011, everything changed. That’s when fighting erupted in Daraa (see “The Conflict in Syria,” below). Ali and I stopped going to school—it wasn’t safe to travel there each day—and couldn’t leave our home to do normal stuff, like play soccer or see friends. We’d stay inside, watching TV and leaving only at certain times to grab necessities, like food. Imagine being cooped up, with no end in sight—that was my life for an entire year. 

When we finally decided to flee, in 2012, we were lucky. Daraa is close to Jordan, so my family was able to drive there to stay with my mother’s sister. I couldn’t say goodbye to my friends, but I figured it wasn’t a big deal. I thought we’d be gone for two weeks, maybe two months at most. 

Rex Larsen/AP Images for Scholastic Inc

Zain (top left) is helping his brother, Ali, 14 (top right), and mother, Nsrin, learn English. Right: His favorite hobbies include photography and soccer.

STARTING OVER

After two years in Jordan, my family received great news: We were moving to the United States. For refugees like me, the process of being admitted to the U.S. can take a really long time (see “The Long Road to a New Life,” right). In August 2015, a year after we were approved, we finally arrived at our new home in Michigan. 

So far, I like my life here. My classmates have welcomed me, but until my English gets better, it’s hard for me to really get to know them. That’s just motivating me to work on my English, though. Someday, I hope to be an ER doctor or a dentist. 

I’m so grateful for this opportunity to start over. Still, I’ll never forget my old life. I wonder where my friends are, the ones I didn’t get to say goodbye to. Are they safe? 

I may never know, but every single day, I hope so. 

Jim McMahon/Mapman®

CORE QUESTION: Do you think the U.S. should accept more or fewer Syrian refugees? Explain. 

The Conflict in Syria

Syria’s civil war began as part of the Arab Spring in 2011 with a series of protests against President Bashar al-Assad, whose family has maintained harsh control over the country for more than 40 years. As peaceful demonstrators called on Assad to resign, his forces violently cracked down on them. Rebel armies sprang up, and before long, the conflict evolved into a bloody civil war. Terrorist groups such as ISIS—the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria—have capitalized on the chaos, using force to take control of large parts of the country. More than 250,000 people have been killed in the fighting, and more than 4.5 million have fled Syria. In an effort to jump-start peace talks and allow delivery of humanitarian aid, an international coalition—led by the U.S. and Russia—negotiated a cease-fire, effective February 27. (The deal excludes ISIS and other terrorist groups.) Will the agreement hold? That remains to be seen. 

The Long Road to a New Life

For refugees, gaining admittance to the U.S. is highly difficult. The president, after consulting with Congress, decides how many refugees will be accepted annually—this year, it’s 85,000. With nearly 60 million displaced people worldwide, including more than 20 million refugees, you can see why one expert recently compared the chances of getting into the U.S. as a refugee to winning the lottery. 

All refugees seeking asylum must first register with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The agency decides whether to grant refugee status. (A person must face, or fear, persecution in his or her home country to be eligible.) The UNHCR then recommends a small percentage of refugees—less than 1 percent—for resettlement in another country. Refugees can’t choose where they go, but they can make a request. 

18-24 months:

Average processing time for refugee applications to the US

Refugees referred to the U.S. undergo extensive background checks by intelligence agencies such as the FBI. They are also interviewed in person and screened for infectious diseases. Syrian refugees must submit to an additional check known as the Syria Enhanced Review, during which specially trained Homeland Security officers vet their cases. Finally, refugees are matched with a U.S. resettlement agency. 

President Barack Obama has set a goal of accepting 10,000 additional Syrian refugees by the end of 2016. However, more than half of U.S. governors say that they don’t want any more of them in their states because they fear some may be terrorists posing as refugees. Although state officials don’t have the legal power to refuse to accept refugees, they can cut funding and take other measures to make the resettlement process more difficult. 

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