When Hiba brought her four children to Jordan, she did so while grieving the loss of loved ones.
Hiba, 29, made the decision to leave Syria after her husband Yaser and one of her brothers were killed when conflict came to their home town.
“I lost twice. I paid the price twice,” she said.
With her brother already in Jordan, she brought her and Yaser’s children Haneen, 13, Mona, 10, Ahmad, eight, and Rahma, four, into the country. Now she lives in a flat and gets financial support to pay the rent. Her focus, like most mothers, is on her children.
“I don’t regret my life,” she said. “I can’t say I’m happy now but when I look at my children and I see them being successful in school and in life, that brings me happiness.”
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Haneen, Mona and Ahmad all attend school in Jordan and get extra free tuition to help them catch up after they missed school when conflict broke out in Syria.
Before then, life was good. Yaser worked in a carpet factory and was a family man who loved coming home and spending time with his wife and children. He would take Haneen to school every day on his motorbike, and on summer evenings, the family would gather together in the garden.
These are some of the memories that sustain Hiba and her family as they try to make a new life in Jordan – getting into a routine and thinking of the future. As a refugee, Hiba is not allowed to work in Jordan, so the family is reliant on World Food Programme vouchers and support from Islamic Relief. Without the support, the basic things so many people in the world take for granted every day – education, food, water – would be denied them.
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