May Peace be with you and all of Allah’s Blessings follow you always, my dearest Muslim sisters! It is now time for another story from the daily life of the imprisoned women in the refugee camps in Syria. As the years go by, the camp is still there physically, but in the true sense, the camp exists still in ourselves, with each passing day being lived as if it is our last one on this Earth. Life passes by, without knowing what tomorrow might bring, our only hopes relying on the Mercy and Grace of Allah Almighty. Each day goes by with us praying to Allah for forgiveness and wishing that He will grant us freedom, that soon enough the hardships will be over and sweet relief will be granted to us by our Lord and Saviour. Perhaps I have told these stories before to you, my dear Muslim Sisters, and I apologize in advance I am about to repeat myself. But I have to make sure all of you, my readers, understand that the women and children in the camps have to face a multitude of issues, and they have to deal with many problems, both feminine and masculine.
During the years we have spent in the camp, we have learnt a great deal of things: we have learnt to save; to enjoy each day, each moment; to find a common language with Sisters from other cultures or having different nationalities and to understand that each of us is different, while being bound by the same Faith in Allah; to be strong and resilient, no matter what happens to us or around us; to survive without having the bear necessities. Nonetheless, as strange as it might sound, I have lived beautiful moments in the camp as well. For example, it was quite pleasant, when you would wake up a few minutes before sunrise, you would go out of your tent while the camp was still quiet, and you would look towards the horizon and watch how the Sun slowly began to rise. When you have a normal, regular life, when you are given everything you need, when you have all the stuff necessary to make your life comfortable, you begin not to notice anymore the entire beauty of the world Allah created.
When you are in an isolated place, surrounded by fences, you start to notice every minor detail of Allah’s creation. You feel each breeze that brings you a pleasant feeling of fresh air, each sunrise and sunset, and, even though it is frightening, you even start to be fascinated and captivated by the web of lightning that pierces the sky during every storm. Inside the camp and in the entire area surrounding it, there are no trees or any other plants for that matter, just barren dessert all around. So, when it does happen to rain, every single soul in the camp tries to immerse themselves in the freshness of the water drops, inspiring and feeding their body, their brain and their soul with these novel sensations, that bring about them a feeling of relaxation and peacefulness.
The most beautiful hours inside the camp were between 5 and 6 p.m., when the scorching heat began to fade and the much awaited coolness of the evening slowly descended. During those hours it was the best time to go to the small market the Muslim Sisters inside the camp had improvised. This particular moment during the day was certainly the single oasis of relaxation the women in the camp could afford. The market was, in fact, a long and narrow made-up “street” with aligned tents on each side serving as small “shops”. Some tents even had tables placed outside, instead of stands. In this small market, you could even find made-up cafes that sold excellent milkshakes. I had the best milkshakes in my entire life there, in the market inside de camp. There you could stand still for a bit and chat with other Muslim Sisters, even with some Sisters you had not been able to see for a long time, since the camp’s surface was quite large. Of course, being a market, you could also buy all sorts of things. Some Sisters sold second hand items that were in excellent condition and of high quality, you could offer yourself a small treat from time to time. The most important advantage of going to the market was, that at least for a small amount of time, we could all forget where we were and we could simply just enjoy the peace and the silence of the evening. The fear, the anxieties, the hardships, they would all go away from our minds for a little by, as we strolled in the market.
Moreover, our life in the camp forced us to develop our creativity and our skills. Some Sisters discovered their limits and surpassed them, while others discovered new strengths and passions. For example, some Sisters began to sow, others to weave beautiful bracelets or to make jewelry out of beads, which they would later sell in the market, thus finding both a new way to provide for themselves and to offer a bit of joy, at the same time, to the Sisters that bought them. For you see, it is only natural for a woman, even in the harsh conditions of a refugee camp in Syria, to feel the need to treat herself with such small delights, that she will later keep as memories a fleeting moment in which she felt happiness. After my life inside the camp, I have reached a very important conclusion – that you must seek the good in everything. Only if you see the bright side of things, life begins to feel easier and happier.
And so, my story today has reached its timely end. I hope you all enjoyed it, my dear Muslim Sisters, and that you found it interesting. May Allah keep safe all true Muslim Believers and may they all find their comfort only in Allah Almighty!
Asira
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