In search of a sun: The story of Ziyoda

“Have you ever lived in a dark tent with the thought, that today may be the last day of your life?

My name is Ziyoda. I am 16 years old, but my story is different from the stories of children my age.

I have four sisters, two nephews, and a mom. We lived in Syria for 5 years, in cold and fear, that today we will close our eyes forever… 

We lived in a tent, in which the rays of the sun did not fall. We could not relax and sleep well, as the fighters rushed in, in the middle of the night and rummaged through our belongings", Ziyoda's eyes were full of horror as if she was back in that tent again. She went to the past, plunging into her memories.

“I want to forget everything, but my scars don't let me forget about the past. I saw, how the bombs were exploding, and I ran. I ran so fast, and prayed for my life, but couldn’t manage…explosion. I am stunned… my eyes are blurred…it’s dark and dusty all around. I open my eyes, and there are shards in me… I am wounded", Ziyoda said trembling and crying.

“My little sister is bruised. She got weak, she has shortness of breath. Doctors said that she has heart disease. After Syria, my older sisters became nervous. They often cry and have headaches. Since then they have not been able to sleep tight”, Ziyoda said sadly.

“Last year we were brought home. We stayed at uncle's house, but could not get along with him... Mom took us to a rented apartment, which we could hardly pay for.

Immediately upon arrival, we went to the doctor in Tashkent. My little sister already had heart surgery... She's better now... She goes to school. My other sisters are also being treated.

My scars are healing. I go to school, and I am treated well here, even though they know about my past. If I don’t understand something, they explain me. My youngest sister goes to kindergarten, and the elder sister sells clothes in the market, while the other one looks after her child.

After a long conversation with psychologists, we stopped being afraid to go out of our house …”.

Ziyoda and her family were returned to the Fergana region as part of Operation Mehr-3.

Since the family did not have a permanent place of residence, the local governor’s office gave them a four-room apartment in June 2021. Social workers helped the family get a temporary residence permit in the new house, and are currently working on, to issue a permanent. The girls' mother works as a nurse on duty only three times a month. To financially support the family, project specialists helped the mother with receiving child benefits.

Elder sisters undergo treatment in a private clinic in Tashkent. Ministry of Education and Science of Fergana region helped them to obtain a certificate of completion 9th grade, and are currently helping to get a document of home-based completion of 10-11 grades. Public charity foundation "VAKF" helped her younger sister to get heart surgery, and the governor’s office placed her nephews in kindergarten.

Work with the family is still in process.

“We found peace here... There is always a light in our house now, and we can always hear the sounds of the birds", Ziyoda said with relief, looking out the window, into which the bright rays of the sun were falling.

This story was written as part of the project, funded by the European Union "EU Support-UN to the states of Central Asia for their citizens, returned from conflict zones, primarily Syria and Iraq”.