Becoming A Refugee

“I am no longer in my house. I am not sitting in my kitchen with my family, waiting for my mother to prepare a nice meal. This is my new temporary life now (Jamous, 2016).” This is what Hassan Jamous says his first thoughts were after being smuggled into Germany. Hassan Jamous is a 24 year old Syrian refugee who left his home town of Damascus due to the fighting between the Syrian regime and the rebel forces. Jamous gives a first person inside account of what it was like for him to become a refugee. In his story he describes traveling to a refugee camp to receive help. When he arrived to the refugee camp he was transferred to another within just a few days. This was considered a normal practice. He then describes the new camp as being overcrowded. He also expressed concerns about not having anywhere to sleep and having to spend hours in line for basic needs like food and showers. He said he felt uncomfortable and would think things like “Is it really okay to be here?” He eventually got adjusted to the camp and figured out strategies to ensure he got his basic needs. In the end Jamous got transferred to a house and was given a three year visa to live and start a new life in Germany (Jamous, 2016). Jamous was transferred to a house very shortly after arriving in Germany but many other refugees often spend years in refugee camps. This is very unsettling and is something I would like to bring awareness toward. How would it feel to become a refugee and know most of the rest of your life was confined to a camp?

As I sit here and ponder on Jamous’s story I wonder what it would be like for myself to become a refugee. What does it feel like to give up everything and flee for safety? Where would I go? Who would accept me? How would I feel? These are the questions that run through my head. Tomorrow, if North Korea or some other world power was to wage war on United States soil I would hope the feeling of self-agency would kick in. My first response would be to save my own life. Mexico or Canada seems the most logical place to flee too, but would Mexico accept me after all my country has done to them recently? I understand where Jamous is coming from because I would also feel like I do not belong. I would feel anxious, scared, and an overall feeling of being alone. I risk my life being smuggled, but when I arrive does anyone actually really want to help me? Or am I just another number added to the problem? I no longer have friends or family it’s just myself. I am shoved in a camp where I wait hours on basic necessities. I would feel like the world was against me. I would want people to know I am a person too just like everyone else, as I am sure many other refugees feel. I have hopes, I have dreams, and I do not deserve to put my life on hold because most of the world sees me as an inconvenience. Like Jamous’s story I would hope to get a visa to restart my life, but almost little to no one is that lucky. Putting myself into those many unlucky peoples shoes I believe this is how I would feel, and I’m sure many others feel, as a refugee.This is my life now. 

For perspective I have attached a video of refugee’s phone while fleeing the country. Put yourself in their shoes. How would you feel?

Citations 

1.       Jamous, H. (2016) ARRIVAL: A NEW HOME. Retrieved from https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-05-31/becoming-refugee-essays-syrians-living-germany