“I have not felt safe a single day in the past nine years. We live in constant fear. Every day of the past nine years we pray that we will survive, that nothing will happen to our loved ones,” Yasmin (not her real name), 50, recalls the devastating impact the Syrian war has had, sitting in the small kitchen of the apartment she now lives in with seven other members of her family. The war in Syria has displaced almost 12 million people, 6.2 million of them internally. Like Yasmin, many families move from one area to another in order to survive.
Yasmin still remembers the first airstrikes and how horrified she was. They struck during Eid, one of the most important Muslim holidays. She had bought new clothes for her children and made cookies. “It was late in the evening and it got so bad that we had to leave our house. My children wanted to take the cookies and the clothes with them, but I had to tell them to leave everything behind. It was dark and we were too afraid to use a torch. This was one of the worst moments of my life. I wanted to be strong for my children, but I could not help but cry.”
Yasmin and her family found shelter at a relative’s house, and once her husband and son found a new job the family’s situation improved for a while. When the fighting followed them, they had to again flee to other parts of Syria, and for a while Yasmin, her children and grandchildren fled to Lebanon. “This was the worst time for me, because my husband and son had to stay behind in Syria. We were apart for nine months, until we could return.” In Lebanon Yasmin became the sole provider for her family, taking care of her children and grandchildren. When she was able to return to Syria, she wanted to help her husband and son who struggled to earn enough money as daily laborers, especially with food and essential items getting more and more expensive.
Her mother in law had taught her how to knit, so when she heard about IRC’s work supporting women by providing them cash for work for knitting she immediately applied. For the first time in her life, she earned her own income. “I bought firewood for our house with the money I earned. It felt so good to know that everyone is warm and cozy because of the work I have done.”
Yasmin was one of over 200 women, who received wool and tools to knit items such as scarves and blankets. The winter clothes she produced were distributed to families in need as part of SRC’s winterization support. The women received a total of 360 USD for their work. For the first time in years, many of the women could afford to buy flour, rice and other basic things for the house. For Yasmin, working as a team was one of the biggest joys. “Learning to knit different designs from each other has really helped us come together, and it’s incredible to just have a safe place where we can chat, laugh and feel positive.” Yasmin says that this helped her forget how long this war has dragged on, at least for a while, and given her some relief from the exhaustion of nine years of fear, loss and displacement. “My biggest wish is to live in safety and peace with my family. I hope I will experience that feeling again someday.”
