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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Syria's refugees: Sena | Syria's refugees: Sena |
| (2 months later) | |
| Lives: Kilis, Turkey | Lives: Kilis, Turkey |
| "I came here one and a half years ago from a village near Hama. First we stayed in a camp in Reyhanlı, close to the border, then my family and I were transferred to Kilis. We were seven in the beginning: my husband, me, and our five children, but our little girl passed away here. She was six years old then, and she was very ill." Looking at a few photographs of her dead daughter, 46-year-old Sena cannot keep from crying. "I miss her very much." | "I came here one and a half years ago from a village near Hama. First we stayed in a camp in Reyhanlı, close to the border, then my family and I were transferred to Kilis. We were seven in the beginning: my husband, me, and our five children, but our little girl passed away here. She was six years old then, and she was very ill." Looking at a few photographs of her dead daughter, 46-year-old Sena cannot keep from crying. "I miss her very much." |
| She adds that her youngest son, Omar, 5, is also ill: "The doctors say that it is something in his brain. He cannot move on his own any more. I am so preoccupied by my little boy, I cannot think of anything else." | She adds that her youngest son, Omar, 5, is also ill: "The doctors say that it is something in his brain. He cannot move on his own any more. I am so preoccupied by my little boy, I cannot think of anything else." |
| In the summer, the container gets very hot and, like her neighbours, Sena has built a small patio shielded by blankets and plastic sheets to keep away direct sunlight. "We are very content to be sheltered here, but sometimes the days get very long. All I do is get up, eat, sit around, and go to sleep again. Sometimes we sit and chat with our neighbours. Many of our friends and neighbours from Hama are also in this camp. That makes it a bit easier." | In the summer, the container gets very hot and, like her neighbours, Sena has built a small patio shielded by blankets and plastic sheets to keep away direct sunlight. "We are very content to be sheltered here, but sometimes the days get very long. All I do is get up, eat, sit around, and go to sleep again. Sometimes we sit and chat with our neighbours. Many of our friends and neighbours from Hama are also in this camp. That makes it a bit easier." |
| Like many of the other men in the camp her two older sons – they are 24 and 20 – both fight with the Free Syrian Army in Syria. "Sometimes they are gone for weeks on end. I worry about them, of course I do. What mother could sleep easy when her sons are fighting in a war? But I cannot keep them from going. I have no right to do that. They fight for our country, for our freedom. It's more important than our worries." | Like many of the other men in the camp her two older sons – they are 24 and 20 – both fight with the Free Syrian Army in Syria. "Sometimes they are gone for weeks on end. I worry about them, of course I do. What mother could sleep easy when her sons are fighting in a war? But I cannot keep them from going. I have no right to do that. They fight for our country, for our freedom. It's more important than our worries." |
| Her husband does not go to fight in Syria. "I need him here to take care of our son. I could not do this without him." | Her husband does not go to fight in Syria. "I need him here to take care of our son. I could not do this without him." |
| As told to Constanze Letsch | As told to Constanze Letsch |
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