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Gazala Mohammed
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Syria - Vancouver
Art by Emily Honderich
Gazala Mohammed story
Gazala Mohammed is a great mom of four children. She is Kurdish from Syria. She was a child psychotherapist and social worker at the refugee camps in Kurdistan in 2013, until she came to Vancouver in 2017 and started a new peaceful life with her family.
When I Compare My Life
Our life was fantastic and beautiful until the war began and forced us to leave Syria and move to Kurdistan, Northern Iraq, in 2013.
Being a refugee in a camp for four years was the hardest thing in our lives, but it helped us to learn through all the difficulties and move to our next step.
Our second journey as refugees started by arriving at the Vancouver airport on September 13, 2017. A day that I still can’t believe when I saw our names printed on a big sign welcoming us by an unknown group of people who surprised us by sponsoring us. There was a group of angels who decided to sponsor my family and me by renting a place for us and supporting us.
Life was safe and peaceful until we were all hit by a virus that we cannot even see.
Whenever I feel stressed about this pandemic, I start to compare what if we were at the camp without enough water to wash hands, to make enough food, and to sleep well to build our health so we can stay safe during COVID-19? It helps me to appreciate how we live now, and I encourage my children to stay strong. I always prefer to stay in Canada during COVID-19 more than in a refugee camp without our basic needs.
"Whenever I feel stressed about this pandemic, I start to compare what if we were at the camp without enough water to wash hands, to make enough food, and to sleep well to build our health so we can stay safe during COVID-19?"