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Protecting youth in Domiz camp: the story of Selima

The crisis and ever-increasing violence in Syria has since 2011 led almost 2 million people, including hundreds of thousands of children, to flee their land and seek refuge in neighboring countries. People originating from the Syrian Kurdistan region have mostly crossed the border into Iraqi Kurdistan. In Domiz refugee camp, ACTED, is playing a central role in child protection through the establishment of a Protection Unit, a Child-Friendly Space and a Youth-Friendly Space, with support from the European Commission Humanitarian Aid & Civil Protection Department through the Nobel Peace Prize, and in close coordination with UNICEF.

Meeting Randa in the YFS

Selima, 14, regularly attends the activities of the only YFS in the camp and is benefitting from ACTED’s innovative methodology that combines informal education, recreational and therapeutic activities to foster the well-being of vulnerable children.

Another morning session draws to an end in ACTED’s Youth-Friendly Space this Monday. Four children start dancing in the middle of the room. Selima leads the way as her playmates look at the young girl’s feet to make sure they got the steps right. She knows the choreography by heart, and it is of no surprise to the YFS volunteers: Selima is famous for her artistic talents around here. Not only does she dance, she is also a great singer.

Selima has been going to the ACTED-run YFS since it opened last April. She usually goes to school six days of the week, attending either morning or afternoon shifts. On her time off from school, she goes to the Youth-Friendly Space, where her favorite activity is music. She used to have music lessons in Syria and is glad to be able to follow her passion despite displacement.

Music and dance activities help Selima channel her emotions and the intrinsic anxiety of having experienced war, displacement and life in a refugee camp at such young age. ACTED’s unparalleled methods allow children to access psychosocial support from social workers through the Child Protection Unit, but also through activities such as forms of expressing emotions through art and creativity that proved to be extremely therapeutic for traumatized children and youth.

Seeking refuge from Syria’s violence and dire living conditions

Selima moved to Domiz camp with her family last winter. Shareen, Selima’s thirty-one year old mother, explains how proud she and her husband Ahmed are of Selima, and how frustrated they feel as they can no longer help improve her talents. As soon as they heard of the opening of the YFS through ACTED’s awareness campaign, Selima’s parents immediately went to register their daughter.

The whole family left their hometown of Qamishlo in January this year. The parents, Mohammed and Bahia, spoke to the ACTED team about their journey from Syria to Iraq. They drove to the Iraqi border taking only as much as they could carry: their four children, Selima (14), Lway (13), Roj (9) and Zain (4), and a couple of suitcases. Bahia, a former hairdresser in Syria, recalls how harsh life had become in the city, where most of their extended family still resides. Syrian Kurdistan brings together many of Syria’s ethnic and religious minorities, and had since 2011 been known as a safe haven from the violence, drawing thousands of Syrian IDPs from cities like Aleppo. But the consequences of the war did not spare its inhabitants. Besides rising tensions between armed groups inside the city, the electricity was soon cut out and Selima’s family had no way to keep warm during the winter. Like many other services, the city’s provision in gas was made impossible by the regional scale of the violence and the family could no longer cook hot meals on the stove. Being left with no other choice, when they heard that the Kurdish government had opened the border, they did like many other families, left everything behind and drove off. After reaching the border, they crossed over into Iraq on foot. It was cold, and difficult to carry even the few belongings they had brought whilst walking in the snow. Crossing took an entire day. Selima remembers the cold, and the pain stinging her tired legs, but she needed to be brave and to give strength to her 3 younger siblings. They registered as refugees in Domiz refugee camp, and waited more than 15 days to receive a tent. Another Syrian family gave them the tent they live in today. It was in poor conditions and had to be stitched with bed sheets but they were grateful to finally have a shelter.

Rebuilding lives in Domiz camp

As days stretched into months, Selima built a new routine in Domiz camp. She sleeps with the rest of her family on a thin mattress on the ground. When she wakes up in the morning, she usually washes her face, pushes her mattress towards the side of the tent, and reviews her lessons before going to school.

Every morning, Selima walks from her family’s tent in Phase One, to the school or to the ACTED run Youth-Friendly Space. In school, she studies the Koran and also takes Kurdish language lessons to learn to read and write in Kurdish. Fortunately and unlike many other refugee children from Syria, Selima did not miss much school time. Since the summer started and her school closed, she has been going to the YFS every day.

Randa walks ten minutes every day to reach the YFS When she is not in the YFS, Selima plays outside with her friends, does her homework or helps her mother in the tent. Bahia is worried about her children’s future. She says: “We don’t know when we’ll go back—one year, a couple of years, ten years? We definitely will go back as soon as we can.“ When comparing life in a refugee camp to what they were facing in Syria, she adds: “The conditions here are not good either but, at least, our children are still alive.”

When she grows up, Selima wants to be a lawyer. And, of course, she wants to keep singing. Bahia smiles at her daughter. Selima’s parents know that in the ACTED-run YFS, their daughter is safe, surrounded with trained social workers, and able to slowly get herself back together through doing what she has always enjoyed the most.

At the Peshkhabour border, in response to the emergency situation caused by the recent sudden influx of refugees, ACTED has been coordinating with UNICEF to support the screening of unaccompanied and separated children. ACTED is offering support with regards to registration, placing of children in waiting tent areas and ensuring their safe transportation to transit sites by coordinating with the International Organisation for Migration.

A day in pictures: New friends and a chance to heal in Domiz Camp