I was nine years old when I learnt to sew from my mum. I used to be given scarves and leggings to sew – things that were easy because she didn’t want me to ruin the material. I started to learn over time. Today, all the neighbours know I’m a very good tailor.”
The war in Syria has since displaced Rehab’s sisters around the world – Rehab lives in Amman, Jordan with one of her sisters, one has made it to Germany and the rest are living in Turkey. But despite living thousands of miles apart, they’re all still sewing.
Rehab lived in Aleppo, a place that was once full of culture and history but has now been devastated by eight long years of war. Thousands of people have died and millions have been left without a safe place to call home. Tragically, Rehab herself lost one of her daughters to the conflict.
In 2013, Rehab fled Aleppo on a bus with her two daughters, Amani and Shaima, son Hekmat, and husband Ali. She was heavily pregnant. While on the bus leaving Aleppo, an airstrike started. Rehab started to get contractions. She was about to give birth.
There was an airstrike. The bus stopped. I was afraid. Thank God there was a nurse on board. I remember people saying, ‘There’s a woman about to give birth!’ I told them I didn’t want anyone to touch me. I delivered my daughter, but she was in a serious condition. The bus driver was worried something might happen to me and was asking how he could help. I fell unconscious and when I woke up, I found myself in a medical room in Zaatari.”
Zaatari is a refugee camp in Jordan, home to nearly 80,000 people, the majority Syrians like Rehab.
Her baby daughter, Sham, survived – but Rehab says that her mental health has suffered. Life in Zaatari compounded the trauma Rehab and her daughters had experienced. “The situation in Zaatari is very bad. It is cold and people live in tents and you have to queue to go to the toilet. I had to breastfeed Sham. We needed clean water. I thought of nothing but how to reach Amman to make sure my children were safe.”
