Salaam aleikum va rahmatu Llahi va barakatuh (n.n. peace to all of you, by the Mercy of Allah Almighty, and may All of His Blessings be with you). Today, I wish to tell you, dear readers, about something that happened to me six months after I was sent to the refugee camp. The morning started as usual, with daily chores around “the house”. First of all, I had to bring water to the tent from the 200 liters barrels in the camp. In order for you to better understand daily life in the refugee camp, I have to tell you that, from place to place, alongside the tents, there are huge barrels, that are filled each morning with water brought to the camp with large trucks / vehicles. Each day, everyone has to manage somehow to bring and store the water inside their one tents before the barrels are empty because, otherwise, you would have to wait until the next day, when they will be refilled. It seemed I had a long and busy day ahead of me, because I needed to do the laundry and, of course, inside the camp there were no washing machines. In fact, during the time I was there, there was practically no electricity inside the camp.
Shortly after I started to do the laundry, I heard a lot of noises outside. My tent was open and I could side from inside the backside of the camp. A commotion started, as the women and the children ran from one tent to another. I could hear screaming, and my oldest daughter ran from the tent to see what was happening, even though I had specifically instructed her to stay put and avoid getting into any kind of trouble. Alas, her curiosity got the better of her, and she ran to one of the sisters from the camp we knew, who lived a few tents away from us. I continued to do the laundry as I watched the tent in which my child had entered just a few minutes before. After another 2 or 3 minutes, I saw how soldiers entered the tent running and kicked out the both the woman and my daughter.
This sister I am telling you about had 3 children, the smallest of which was about 6 months old. I got dressed in a hurry and started running towards them. The soldiers were getting ready to embark both my friend and my daughter, alongside with other women, in a vehicle and take them away to prison. The soldiers said the women were detained because they had mobile phones, which were strictly prohibited inside the camp, and they used the phone to take photographs inside the camp. It was not true, but the soldiers did not care about the truth. I got closer to the armed soldiers and tried to explain to them that they had detained my daughter, who was just a young innocent girl. I told them to arrest me instead of my daughter, but nobody paid attention to me. The soldiers, all men, decided not to bother too much, so they took me as well as my daughter.
They took us to the so-called prison of the camp, which was, in fact, an open space surrounded by barbed-wire, with a total surface of 4 by 3 meters. Initially, they sat us down on some chairs. To the side of the “prison”, there were several women soldiers. It was clear they did not like us at all. They constantly made fun of us and laughed at us. They told us to stand up and then they took us to another prison, this time a building, hurrying us along as we all were nothing more than mere animals. Inside the prison, there were a lot of other women and children, all cramped together on some sort of slim mattresses that were scattered across the floor. The Sister I knew had been detained with her 6 months old baby and did not have time to take with her anything for the baby, neither diapers, nor food, as she was no longer breastfeeding. During the first 24 hours, we were not given any food at all. Some of the other detainees, who had been in the prison longer, took pity on us and have us some bread and hummus. Other sisters shared some diapers and baby food with the Sister I mentioned above. Thank Allah Almighty, during the time spent in this prison, the baby slept for the most part and ate just a little. We were held there for 2 days in total but, in fact, my daughter and I, stayed in the cell just one day, because afterwards were taken by the soldiers for interrogations: who were we, where did we come from, what is my daughters real age (she was just 12 or 13 years old then). They did not believe she was that young and started mocking us, saying that my daughter is, in fact, much older, and most probably, had been already “married” at least 2 or 3 times before she arrived in the camp. They did not even believe she was my daughter. I was very unhappy and upset about all this, and I tried to make them to stop.
After one more day, they placed my daughter and me in a car and taken back to camp. I was relieved, but I could not be happy, because my Sister in Faith and her little baby were still there, left behind, in the prison. She was very nervous and vulnerable, and I knew I would not be easy for her, all alone among strangers. I pleaded with the soldiers to let her go as well, but they would not listen. I did not want to tell the soldiers where my tent was so they took us the tent of my Sister in Faith. But when they entered the tent, they understood I did not live there. As a punishment, they grabbed me, dragged me back to the car, and took me back to prison, where I had to spend another 24 hours. One thing brought me an ounce of joy, the fact that the woman I knew and her baby were not alone anymore. She also told me, afterwards, that she was also happy I was brought back and she not left alone there, as strange as it might sound. The next day, they took us back to camp. Praised be Alllah, the Lord and Master of the entire world, for our trial has reached its end and it was a happy one.
Many years have passed since then. A lot of things can be forgotten over time. Sometimes, when I remember about the things that I have endured in the camp, it seems almost like a bad dream and that they did not happen to me at all. The most important thing, that brings me joy to this day, is that I did everything in my power to help others, as a Mother, as a Friend, and as a Sister in Faith. I am Grateful to Allah that he was deemed me worthy to grant me some qualities that helped me survive, that he has given me strength of character, made me believe in myself and, most importantly, gave me unwavering Faith in His Power and Mercy.
Asira
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