(1/3) “I was studying Literature and French Philosophy when...

(1/3) “I was studying Literature and French Philosophy when the war came. I wanted to be an Arabic teacher. I didn’t want to be a soldier. I didn’t want to kill anyone. I had no interest in religion or politics. But all the young men were being forced to join the army, so when it came time to renew my papers, I ran. I only packed a small suitcase. I was planning to stay in Jordan for maybe a month until things calmed down. But when a month passed and the war hadn’t ended, I thought: ‘Maybe two months.’ Then: ‘Maybe three months.’ But after three months my mother told me that our house had been destroyed. She sent me a picture on the phone. Everything was rubble. There was nothing to go back to. But I had nothing in Jordan. I’d run out of money. I didn’t know anyone. I was homeless. I felt so alone that I wanted to kill myself. Then one day I tried to call a friend’s phone but a strange voice answered.”

(Amman, Jordan)