”’What is you biggest dream?”
”That all people would have wings, just like angels. Then we would all be able to fly, hug the moon and touch the sky.”
Ghazel, 10 years old, from Syria (Lausanne, Switzerland)
”One of my teachers once told me that my German wasn’t good enough to continue my High School education. I came from Somalia to Austria in 2009 so German is not my first language. After she told me that I might have to quit my education and start to work, I studied even harder. I read many books in German. My language level went up and I was able to continue my education. I am now taking evening classes. Hopefully I will graduate this year so I will be able to finally go to university. I am not sure what I want to study but I know I want to have a job with meaning. During Ramadan I volunteered to go to orphanages and nursing homes to talk and play with the people there. That way I experienced what it means to help others. I would like for people to get along better, to listen to each other and to appreciate different opinions. As a child I was always dreaming of my birthday. Being a huge fan of Harry Potter and Batman I wanted to have theme parties where my friends would show up in costumes. In Somalia its uncommon to celebrate birthdays so I never really did. Soon I will turn 20 and even though I might be a bit too old for a themed birthday party, I don’t care. I would still love to have such a birthday party. I will throw one and invite all my friends. In life I learned to follow my heart. My sister always says, you are the ink and life is a book and you have to write your own story.”
Khalid, 20 years old, from Somalia (Austria, Vienna)
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”What I remember most about our journey is the rubber boat. It took 5 hours. The engine shut down a few times. We were so scared. It was midnight. We all were navigating on our phones. We went from Turkey to Greece. I mostly remember all the walking we did. I remember the mud, the cold and the constant rain. I did not eat much. When we finally arrived in Austria, I was so happy that I no longer had to walk. We ended up staying here in Vienna. On my first day in school here, I was very nervous. I didn’t know what to talk about to my classmates. I’d never met Austrian kids before and I was the first Syrian kid in the class. The kids in my class asked me a lot of questions about Syria and the war. I didn’t mind explaining to my classmates what my life was like in Syria. I told them about Aleppo, about the war and also about the Falafel because Falafel is Syria is really good. Some kids asked funny questions like: ”do you have cars in Syria?” Of course we have cars in Syria! Someone thought we only have camels. I already made a lot of friends here but sometimes I miss my friends in Syria. We still keep in touch through Facebook. I think the world without war is so much better. It is interesting for me to hear things about Syria. I saw so many stories about Syria going around on the internet and it is hard to tell if they are true. People must hear the truth and journalists have the power to do that. That is why I want to become a journalist so I can share the truth.”
Amr, 15 years old, from Syria (Austria, Vienna)
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“In many ways Shana has more courage than I have. She says whatever she wants to and I really admire her for that. Our dad came to Austria while we stayed behind in Syria with our mother. We were counting on family reunification so that we could come to Austria as well once our father would have obtained all the right papers. In the meantime I turned 18 which meant that I was no longer allowed to come and join my father in Austria. My mother wasn’t leaving without me. We tried a lot of things and we ended up traveling to Lebanon where there is an Austrian Embassy. Finally with the help of UN Refugee Agency, we all ended up coming to Austria. I do feel that our situation has a big impact on our family but I am so happy that we are together. I am also happy that my little sister can be a child again here in Vienna. She has so many dreams. The other day she told me that she wants to be a princess and live in a castle. Just like in fairy tales. Of course fairy tales do not represent reality but I just love that she still believes them.”
Shana, 8 years old, from Syria (Austria, Vienna)
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”I love playing computer games. One of my favorite games is called “Combat Zombies”. I once discussed with my friend whether Zombies are real or not. He said that there are Zombies in the United States but I didn’t believe him. Still it made me a bit afraid of going to the toilet by myself at night because you never know. That is why I want to become a super hero so I don’t have to be afraid anymore. I want to be a super hero with golden bracelets, like Wonder Woman. I would end the fighting in Syria and then I would go back and kiss everything, really everything, also the bananas and the watermelons.”
Ayham, 8 years old, from Syria (Vienna, Austria)
Over the next 10 days, I will be sharing a photo series with you that I have been working on for the past year called ‘The Dream Diaries’.
Together with graphic designer Annegien Schilling I have been traveling through Europe to meet children and young adults who fled their home countries due to war and persecution, leaving everything behind except their hopes and dreams of a better future. Now they are creating new lives in Europe. Through engaging with the many children we met, they shared their dreams with us. Once we had gathered their stories and dreams, we created an image of those dreams to symbolize their realization.
The Dream Diaries is a collaboration between Humans of Amsterdam/Debra Barraud, graphic designer Annegien Schilling (Instagram: Fetching_tigerss), Filmmaker Kris Pouw and the UN Refugee Agency.
We hope you will open your hearts and welcome them. While most of the children we met during the making of this project have been granted asylum in Europe, they now face the many challenges that come along with building new lives in a new country. Their stories really touched us and through the project we saw the strength of these children and how with the right support they can achieve anything.
We were able to create this photo series with the help of
which works to protect people who have to flee their homes because of war and persecution.
You can help too – the UN Refugee Agency has set up a worldwide petition which asks decision makers to grant refugees safety education, and opportunities. Please sign here so refugees can turn their dreams into reality, and show you welcome refugees
http://www.unhcr.org/withrefugees/
Photo by Humans of Amsterdam/Fetching_Tigerss/UNHCR/Dimedrol68/Shutterstock.com
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