Four years ago Salma (not her real name) and her family left their home and the only life they knew, and travelled for days to seek refugee status in Trinidad and Tobago.
They had been forced to flee Egypt after experiencing religious persecution because they chose to embrace Christianity instead of Islam.
Salma can barely speak English. She communicated to WMN in Arabic with the help of a translator.
She described what she witnessed and experienced in Egypt.
“Churches were burnt…A young couple was burnt alive because they wore symbols of Christianity. Lots of people get kidnapped and brainwashed into converting,” she said.
From Egypt to Dubai to Panama – a journey filled with anxiety and uncertainty – 43-year-old Salma, her husband, and their two children finally arrived in TT.
She is originally from Syria and her husband is from Egypt. Six years ago they met on a Christian social media group. A year later she left her homeland and went to Egypt to marry him.
“He would have had trouble to come to Syria to marry me,” she explained. “So I went to him… But the situation in Egypt was very bad for Christians. There was a lot of prejudice. I tried to go back to Syria but the situation there was worse.”
Salma’s brother, who lives in TT, made arrangements for her family to travel to TT to seek refugee status. They left everything that was familiar to make their temporary home in a foreign land.
They live in a small apartment in south Trinidad and she said she has no intention of ever returning to Syria or Egypt.
[caption id="attachment_896071" align="alignnone" width="683"] Four years ago, this refugee and her family fled Egypt after experiencing religious persecution. They were granted refugee status in TT. - Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
“It (the journey) was challenging. We had to switch many airplanes and there were long waits in the airports. We had to give our passports to the captain of each plane when we boarded and got them back when we landed. A Syrian guy we met told us it was because they realised we were Syrian.”
When the family arrived in TT they went to the Living Water Community in Port of Spain and was given documents to fill out. They completed and submitted the documents to the Immigration Division, and did an interview at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
After some time, “We got accepted (as refugees) and it means a lot. It gives us hope for the future. An improvement from our situation of how it was back there (in Egypt),” Salma said. But she said it is unfortunate that their education has been put on hold.
There are over 20,000 refugees and asylum-seekers currently registered with UNHCR in TT.
But although they are not able to access education through the public school system, they are allowed to be enrolled in private schools. Salma cannot afford to, and is considering the UNHCR’s online learning, Equal Place – an educational platform that helps refugees and migrants try to bridge the educational gap. UNHCR said in April, around 1,050 refugees an
