Hope stronger than the sea: the story of a young Syrian woman with asylum, resilience, and aspirations for a new Syria

Doaa, who does not know how to swim, remained in the Mediterranean Sea for 4 days after the boat capsized, clinging to a dilapidated children’s buoy, carrying in her arms two girls whom their family members had entrusted to Doaa before they drowned.

The story of a supplication was told in a book “Hope is stronger than the sea” Written by Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications when she was spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

We conducted a video interview with Doaa Al-Zamil from Sweden, where she now lives, and in this article we leave her the space to talk about her difficult experience with asylum and loss, her resilience in the face of difficulties to become an activist advocating for refugee rights, her hope for a better future for Syria, and her enthusiasm to contribute to rebuilding her homeland.

“I cannot describe my feeling when I heard the news of the fall of the Assad regime. I cried a lot. It was a dream for me and for many Syrians. I called my friends in Daraa and outside Syria. I wanted to talk to them about this matter. I cried from my heart when I heard the news. I did not know how to describe my feeling. at that time.

I had to leave Syria with my family during the conflict, and we went to Egypt and lived there for more than 3 years. Conditions were difficult for a Syrian refugee family. My father’s sole breadwinner was me. I was working and studying all the time. I was exhausted and afraid of the future with no opportunities in Egypt.

In the last year, I got engaged to a Syrian young man I met in Egypt. In light of the difficult circumstances, my fiancé decided to go to Europe and we decided that I would travel with him to try to bring my family later. Unfortunately, with no legal ways for Syrian refugees to enter Europe, we were forced to deal with smugglers and pay them large sums of money. We tried 3 times, the first 2 failed and the police arrested us and imprisoned us for 10 days each time.

We repeated the attempt until we were able to leave Egypt from the coast of Alexandria to begin the journey of death. We moved from one boat to another while we were in the middle of the sea. The last boat was very bad and was carrying 500 people, including me and my fiancé Bassem. The person who was supposed to be the captain told us it would take an hour to get to the Italian border.

Hours passed and all we reached was death and drowning. Another boat came with faceless people shaped like pirates. They hit our boat with wood and insulted us. They sank the boat and fled. They ran away, laughing.

To this day, the sounds of their laughter still ring in my ears and I cannot forget them. How was it easy for them to kill five hundred people, including children, women, families and young people who fled death and looked to the future?

Most of the five hundred people drowned, leaving only fifty on the surface of the sea, including me and my fiancé. I saw survivors drowning and dying, fatigue and exhaustion sometimes forcing them to give up. I couldn’t swim, all I had was a rickety baby float that could barely hold my head above the sea water. Two exhausted people approached me, feeling like they were about to die, and asked me to hold their two daughters.

I remained like this for four days, witnessing my fiancé Bassem die along with many others, one after another. I clung to life. Perhaps responsibility for the lives of the two girls motivated me to resist everything and not give up. The days passed slowly, I was surrounded by cold and corpses. I wondered if the sharks were going to come and eat me at any moment. The only light I could see in the dark of the night was from the stars in the sky above me. I was reading the Qur’an and praying to God from my heart. They were very difficult days for me and the two girls.

Four days later, we were rescued by a ship that received a signal that a refugee boat had capsized in the area. We were among 11 people rescued by the ship and brought to Greece. Upon rescue, we discovered that one of the two girls had died.

While I was in the hospital, families contacted me with photos of their loved ones wondering if they were on the same boat that capsized with us. Among them is the uncle of the child who survived. Through what she heard from her father before he drowned and the pictures that her uncle shared with me, she confirmed his identity and testified with him in court so that he could receive custody of her. She now lives with him.

I was determined to go from Greece to Sweden because that is what my fiancé and I were trying to do in search of a better life for us and my family, especially to educate my brothers. My application was initially rejected, but the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees helped me and my family come to Sweden so that we could finally be reunited.

We learned the Swedish language and my brothers attended education. My little brother (Hamoudi), who was facing great difficulties in his education in Egypt, is on the verge of university.

Many people ask me about this dangerous journey and traveling through smugglers. I always tell them that it is the road to death, which I had to take so that my family could live in better and safer conditions. In the end, the refugee or migrant is forced to go through the path of death only death. They are fleeing from death to the possibility of death.

In Sweden, I worked as a teacher’s assistant for six years, and now I focus on participating in conferences and speaking about self-motivation and how one can overcome difficulties after going through adversity. I talk about Syrian refugees, their rights, and the book that tells my experience: ‘Hope Stronger than the Sea’. I tried to convey the voice of millions of Syrians and all the Syrian people who suffered greatly under the rule of Bashar al-Assad.

Of course, I want to return to Syria one day, but I cannot say when. Syria today needs a lot to rebuild it. I can contribute to this from Sweden or anywhere in the world, to erase the destruction and color it green.

Syrians are hope and the future, positivity and peace. Syrians deserve to live in safety and victory. We can all contribute. Hope for the future and cooperation between everyone can make a big difference. We are a conscious and educated people and we always aspire to achieve the best.”