Portrait of Ousama, from Syria as part of the documentary “Moving Forward: Portraits of Refugee Students from Syria”
“Although the Syrian war began before I started my higher education, I was still determined to achieve my dream of becoming a successful dentist. So, I moved to Damascus, the capital of Syria, to attend one of the universities in order to make my dream come true. During my bachelor studies, I was jailed for a month and a half for no reason other than my gender. The days I spent in the dark rooms of the Syrian jails were the worst days of my life. When I got out, I was greatly affected by this experience; however, I was dedicated to complete my education and wanted to work hard and make-up for what I have missed. Shockingly, I found out that the university dropped me out of all of the courses that I was enrolled in due to missing one of the exam periods while in prison. After many attempts, I was unable to continue my education in Syria, so I left to the closest country, Jordan, hoping to enrol in a university there. After a year and a half in Jordan, I realized that the tuitions were very high and the acceptance was very difficult to get too, so I decided to leave to Turkey. Turkey is where I attend college and reside now with my family, as I was unable to see them as long as I was in Jordan. When I came to Turkey, I managed to get my family from Syria, which was a very difficult task and I was not able to get an acceptance for a dentistry program. Consequently, I decided to enrol in the engineering program instead. Even though most of my friends graduated already, and even though I face many hardships here, I still have hope. I want to complete my education and help build my country back in the future. Through the HEEAP courses at Karabuk University, I have been taught English in a very effective way and was able to learn it. However, I still face many difficulties due to the five-year gap in my education. This is a problem that many Syrian students have to face along with the social and financial hardships. Now, I am starting to get used to the life in Turkey and I am looking forward to mastering three different languages, graduating as an engineer, and helping as many people as I possibly can.”
By Ousama Almasalmeh
©HOPES
