Ummuahmed about Istanbul and her concerns for her children

Ummuahmde fled the war in Syria in 2012, together with her family. Since then they live in Istanbul and run a small shop there. In the interview passage she explains that even after many years in her refuge Istanbul, she doesn’t feel connected to the city as a home. She also talks about her concerns for the future and safety of her children.

Ummuahmad in Istanbul, 2021. Privat Picture.

Back then [when we came to Istanbul], we didn’t know about Istanbul at all. We had some people, some relatives in Istanbul and they said there are lots of working opportunities in textile factories in Istanbul and you can come and work. So, they came here before us and after them, I came here. I didn’t know Istanbul at all. It was only a working place, we didn’t know Istanbul or the city. We didn’t have any relatives here. For two years, we didn’t have any connection with other people. […]

Istanbul is a place, I don’t know it’s right or wrong. We came here, we wanted to work. But the other kids couldn’t study in here. I have three daughters, they should study but they didn’t study, because when we came here, we could not send them to school. I was caring so much about my children’s study, my younger son is a civil engineer, he is working in Saudi Arabia. The other kids were studying in a university as well. They were studying 12th grade, to take diploma from university but the others couldn’t. Because of the war they couldn’t continue, and they came here, they have to work, not to study and it was so hard for them.

For me, I studied until the 9th grade. I wanted for my kids to study more because when they study, they can achieve more stuff, I couldn’t do that so I wanted them to do that.

But I say “Elhamdulillah (Thank God),” because I see a lot of mothers who lost their children, they had the pain of that loss, I was them. Thank God, that didn’t happened to me. The situation now is good, “Elhamdulillah”.

Today, I cannot say about Istanbul that it’s a home. It’s not certain when we will go back. Maybe in one year, the whole situation will be different and I will be in Syria. But if Bashar 11Bashar al-Assad (b. 1965), president of Syria since 2000. stayed as the head of State, we would not go back.