After fleeing wars in Syria and Ukraine, Rasha is determined to chase her dreams

In Ukraine, wailing sirens warned Rasha of missile attacks, giving her precious time to race to the bunker. But in Syria, she says there were no sirens to warn of the violence ahead. 

“Words are not enough to describe Syria,” says 18-year-old Rasha, twisting her gold initial R necklace anxiously and recalling memories from Aleppo. “People were afraid to get out of their houses, and they were also afraid to stay indoors. If a house was bombed, there was no escape, everyone would die.”

Rasha holds on tightly to memories from her childhood;  the smell of the Mediterranean sea, harvesting oranges, mounds of spices, and the warmth of her grandmother’s home. But the Syrian civil war changed her life in an instant – at seven-years-old, she was waking up to the sounds of helicopters and gunfire.

“For a child, war is a tragedy. It’s very painful to see tanks, people with guns, the ground below you shaking and helicopters flying overhead and dropping bombs,” says Rasha.

Rasha, and her four younger siblings, fled Syria along with their parents abruptly. For three harrowing nights, the family stayed in an abandoned house in Aleppo fearing for their lives as lines of armed vehicles passed by them. The family eventually found safety in Moldova before travelling on to Ukraine. 

In the outskirts of Kiev, Rasha belonged to a large Muslim community and found solace at the Islamic Cultural Centre. She quickly learned the Ukrainian language, in addition to speaking Romanian, Arabic and Russian. Rasha was safe and happy, with big dreams for the future.

At 5am on 24 February, Rasha received news that Ukraine was at war. The neighbouring city of Irpin soon came under heavy attack. Rasha comforted her frightened siblings as the sirens wailed and she struggled to process what was happening around her. 

As she recalls, “I never imagined that this would happen again. I kept on asking myself, why one more time?”

Rasha and her family didn’t leave Ukraine as quickly as they had left Syria. It took a week to secure transport and organise their belongings. Rasha carefully packed clothes, the prayer rug, the Koran and a precious bracelet from a friend.

As of 24 August, Moldova has received over 580,000 refugees, approximately 90,000 have stayed, half of whom are children. At a UNICEF-supported youth centre in Chișinău, Rasha met youth worker Julia Nicorici. 

It’s 30 degrees in the shade as Julia and Rasha chat on colourful bean bags. The bond between the two is strong, and as Rasha struggles to find the right words, Julia reaches over to squeeze her hand reassuringly.

“I immediately felt comfortable at the centre because Julia was so open with me. There are a lot of different activities here and it’s a chance for young people like me to be more free after such a difficult time in Ukraine,” she says.

At the youth centre, young people can access the support they need and despite a childhood marred by conflict, Rasha is determined to hold on to her dreams. 

Rasha looks down the lens of the camera with fierce determination. “One year from now, my life will be more productive. I see myself as a medical student and I want to live in Ukraine.”

UNICEF and partners developed unique services for integrating refugee young people into communities in Moldova. More than 20,000 young people have participated in a non-formal educational program in youth centres. The programme is scaling up to reach 60,000 youth across five centres, including a mobile youth centre. 

In addition, UNICEF and the Ministry of Education launched a series of boot camps for 250 young people from Ukraine and Moldova with the UPSHIFT social innovation programme. The programme allows young people to build resilience and develop new skills through social start-ups. UNICEF will support 25 start-ups, which aim to improve the lives of adolescent refugees.