In 2013, Amina lived with her entire family in one house. She loved walking home from school and visiting her Uncle Mahmoud to read his books. She would eat apples with her grandfather. Amina's family never thought Syria would be at war but her father explained that the roots of the conflict originated when Hafez al-Assad took control of the country. People lived in fear until 2000 when his son, Bashar came to power. Syrians were hopeful until a year into his rule, when he arrested those calling for democratic elections. Free speech, public gatherings were restricted and people were careful not criticized the government for fear of being watched.
But on March 15, 2011, everything got much worse when students in Dara'a, in southern Syria graffitied a wall with a resistance slogan. The students were arrested and possibly tortured. This outraged people and they began to demonstrate throughout Syria. As the unrest grew, Syria fell into civil war with soldiers from the Syrian army defecting to form a new group, the Free Syria Army or FSA. People were afraid that Assad was preparing to attack his own people in Aleppo.
Lebanon was swamped with 1.3 million Syrian refugees. The country was still recovering from a fifteen year civil war and fears of another war were increasing.
Syrians were not allowed to assimilate into Lebanese society and were kept separate. This was because many extremists in Syria attempted to enter Lebanon to fight Hezbollah who were helping Assad. These extremists would bomb areas where Hezbollah had control. Because Lebanon did not have the infrastructure nor the money to cope with so many new people living conditions deteriorated and the schools were crowded. Amina was lucky to be able to attend school, learning in a new language.
But one day Youssef became very ill with bacterial meningitis. The medication to save his life was expensive and the decision was made to have Amina leave school in order to work to help pay for Youssef's medications. Her father also made the difficult decision to not renew his residency papers meaning he could be arrested at any time in Lebanon. To make matters worse, the war in Syria was growing worse with many soldiers now abandoning the revolution and the emergence of jihadist and Islamist groups. Their dream of returning one day to Syria appeared to be vanishing.
Then Walid learned from his cousin about a potential way out of Lebanon. But when that failed, and just as the situation appeared even more dire, a new possibility appeared. But do Walid and Dali have the courage to take it?
Discussion
Author Samya Kullab is currently a Baghdad-based Iraq correspondent for the Associated Press. In 2017, Kullab, in collaboration with illustrator Jackie Roche and colourist, Mike Freiheit, wrote Escape From Syria, about the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon. From 2013 to 2016, Kullab was a reporter and editor for Lebanon's Daily Star, covering the refugee crisis as it unfolded.
Kullab observed first-hand, the refugee experience as well as the social and economic impacts on Lebanon as it absorbed almost a million displaced Syrians fleeing the war. In her novel's introduction, Kullab outlines some of the problems Syrian refugees experienced, problems which she vividly portrays in Escape From Syria.
This powerful graphic novel portrays the impact of the Syrian conflict through the character of Amina and her family. Kullab switches the narrative back and forth between the different time periods, gradually filling in the backstory as to how Amina and her family arrived in Canada. Amina
and her family are now safe, living in Toronto, Ontario but she
remembers times before the war when her mother made delicious dinners
and her father, who owned a shoemaking business travelled the world. She also recollects the
outbreak of the conflict and fleeing into Lebanon.Unlike many other refugee stories, the focus is not on Amina's family's escape from Lebanon. Fortunately, there was no dangerous sea crossing, although her father Walid almost drowned during his failed attempt to leave via human smugglers.
Instead, Kullab focuses on what life was like in the refugee camps and how desperation can make good people do things they would never ever have considered. Conditions in the camp are terrible, with little food, poor sanitation and almost no schooling. A child who spends five to eight years in a camp, with no education, has poor prospects for a good life.Walid is determined Amina stay in school, until their circumstances become so dire that she is forced to work so they can pay for Youssef's medication.
The desperation is especially seen in the panels that show Amina meeting her friend Mona who was in her class in Aleppo. Mona offers Amina an invitation to her wedding but Amina is stunned because her friend is only thirteen years old! She is being married because her parents are afraid the camps are no longer safe. When Amina's mother brings up this idea, telling her they are considering the same, Amina refuses and runs out. Later at the UNHCR, Amina tells the case worker her mother wants to arrange a marriage for her as a means of protecting her.
Kullab reminds readers that even after finding safety in another country such as Canada, Syrian refugees struggle, feeling like outsiders as they work to adapt to a new country and culture. Walid tells Amina, "In Syria, I knew who I was. I knew the logic of the place, even when there was war. But here, I'm swimming in an ocean and I'm still searching for my footing."
Escape From Syria offers young Canadian readers an overview of the Syrian refugee crisis and how war, fleeing one's homeland and living in a refugee camp has a significant impact on the people experiencing these situations. The story is simply told, the art panels well crafted and coloured. Kullab presents the context of the story in her introduction and in the back matter fills in the details of quotes from the text in the End Notes. A brilliant, effective collaboration. Well done!
Book Details:
Escape From Syria by Samya Kullab
Toronto: Firefly Books 2017
95 pp.
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