Hany, 22 years old: “I’ve always loved learning. I know that with an education, I can accomplish almost anything. When I fled Syria with my family three years ago to escape war, I had to give up my studies. Leaving my home was hard and we didn’t have time to pack. I made sure the one thing I took with me was my high school diploma.

I miss the simple things most. My family together in the house my father built, my baby brother Ashraf playing in the garden, the sound of birds outside my window, and my friends. Most of all, I miss going to school and I wonder if I would ever be able to attend university.

Even in the darkest moments, I never lose hope and I never stop dreaming. I tell myself that if I hold on to my diploma, I would one day be able to start studying again. I know that education is light. Without it we are in the dark forever. We are blind.”

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(c) UNHCR / A. McConnell / 2014 هاني يحمل أغلى ما يملك - شهاداته الثانوية. "إنها حياتي ومستقبلي."

Hany’s brother Ashraf loves to run around the settlement. But his family says he is also scared by loud noises and still seems traumatized by the memories of Syria. (c) UNHCR / A. McConnell / 2014

Hany takes a “selfie” photo on a mobile phone of himself and Ashraf in the family shelter in the Bekaa Valley. “The mobile has become my best friend. I spend hours and hours with it. I use it for writing and reading and communication,” says Hany. He says it links him to people around the world and helps occupy his time. (c) UNHCR / A. McConnell / 2014

束の間の楽しい時間を過ごすアシュラフとヘイニー。2人は紛争によって多くを失い、苦難を経験しました。紛争が4年目に突入し、将来が見えないまま避難生活を送っています。 © UNHCR/ A.McConnell/2014

Hany is a refugee who fled Syria three years ago. Before the war, Hany lived in the moment. He was a rapper, performed in a band at school, but most of all dreamed of going to university. In a quite district of Homs, in the house his dad built, he would stare at the tree outside his bedroom and write poems.

His brother, Ashraf, was born on the day Syria’s conflict began. Just 20 days later, the violence reached their neighborhood. The bombs fell and their windows shook. They stayed until the horror came to their family: An aunt, uncle and cousin were murdered in their homes, their throats slit. It was the final straw.

After the family fled, their house was looted and burned. Hany brought only one thing with him: his high school diploma and transcripts. “These are my life, my future: I left everything behind in Syria but not these.”

Refugees. Ordinary people living through extraordinary times.
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