Skip to main content

Somali Teenager Sets Her Hopes High for the Future




War shattered 14-year-old Manaal’s dreams for the future. Now safe in the Netherlands, with new friends, her spirits are soaring once more.

“I have only been in an airplane once and that is when we arrived here from Somalia,” says Manaal, who fled the country with her family. “In the airplane, I felt butterflies in my stomach the whole time. I saw a movie about a stewardess and she looked so pretty and smart that I decided I want to become a stewardess as well.”

Twenty-eight long years of conflict have left Somalia reeling. The peaceful canals and cafes of Amsterdam, where Manaal found safety in 2014 , have offered the youngster a refuge she could barely have imagined.

Manaal is one of 12 refugee and asylum-seeking children living in Europe who star in a new project that lets their imagination run free. Titled The Dream Diaries, the project sees the young refugees and asylum-seekers reveal their hopes and dreams from the safety of their new homes in Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

The series was produced by Humans of Amsterdam photographer Debra Barraud, her colleague Benjamin Heertje, Dutch graphic designer Annegien Schilling, filmmaker Kris Pouw and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

In it, Manaal dreams of becoming an air stewardess. A portrait shows her sitting on the wing of an airplane, soaring through a picturesque evening sky.

After 5 long years of separation from her father, who was the first to flee to Europe in a desperate bid to find a better life for his family, air travel means more to Manaal than most.


“I want to be able to travel, see Paris and have butterflies in my stomach.” © UNHCR/Humans of Amsterdam

“When we arrived at the airport, I finally saw my dad again,” she tells The Dream Diaries team. “So I ran up to him and hugged him really tight.”

“When children flee their home countries, they leave everything behind, except their hopes and dreams,” says co-creator Debra Barraud, whose Humans of Amsterdam photography project has over 400,000 Facebook followers. “Through the project, we saw the strength of these children and how with the right support they can achieve anything.”

Audiences are being encouraged to stand #WithRefugees by signing UNHCR’s global petition, which asks decision makers to grant refugees safety, education and opportunities – turning their dreams into reality. You can follow The Dream Diaries series via Humans of Amsterdam, Fetching Tigerss and UNHCR’s social accounts.

“My dream is to be a flight attendant,” says Manaal, who will never forget the elation of her first flight – to safety. “I want to be able to travel, see Paris and have butterflies in my stomach. I want to see the entire world.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

7 Unknown Facts About Hajr Al Aswad Every Muslim Must Know.

The Hajr-e-Aswad also known as The Black Stone is set in the eastern corner of the Holy Kaaba. The Tawaf is started and ended by facing this sacred black stone. Over the years, throughout history, numerous people which included the Prophets of Allah (Peace be upon them) and the Holy Prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon him), the Sahaba (may Allah be pleased with them) and other pious Muslim personalities have performed Hajj and Umrah around the Holy Kaaba and have also placed their blessed lips on the Holy Stone. Today we are going to present some lesser-known facts about Hajr-e-Aswad.[irp] 1-The Hajr-e-Aswad also known as The Black Stone was brought down from heaven (Jannah) and was presented to Ibrahim (peace be upon him) so that he could place it in the corner of the Kaaba. Sunan an-Nasa'i 2935 2-The Hajr-e-Aswad was reportedly stolen from the Holy Kaaba during 930 CE by the Qarmatian warriors. These warriors sacked Makkah while desecrating the Well of ZamZam with corpses ...
2 comments
Read more

10 Oldest Manuscripts of The Quran

Allah said in Surah al-Hijr, Ayah 09: Indeed, it is We who sent down the Quran and indeed, We will be its Guardian. And undoubtedly, the present-day Quran is same as the Quran which was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). In this post, we take a look at some of the oldest manuscripts of the Quran, including ones that date back to the days of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the Rightly-Guided Caliphs. 10 Oldest Manuscripts of The Quran 1. Birmingham Quran Manuscript In 2015, at the University of Birmingham, scientists found an old Quranic manuscript on parchment, using clearly legible Arabic Hijazi script. It is said to be one of the oldest manuscripts, and it dates back to sometime between 568 and 645 CE, that is, probably sometime during the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) himself. 2. Sana’a Quran Manuscript The Sana’a Quran manuscript was found in Yemen in 1972 during the restoration of the Great Masjid of Sana’a. The manuscript is written on parchmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Buddhists violence against Muslims, Sri Lanka declares state of emergency

Colombo: Sri Lanka on Tuesday has declared a nation-wide state of emergency for 10 days after violent clashes broke out between majority Sinhalese Buddhists and minority Muslims in the country’s central Kandy district that left two persons dead. The meassure comes after a local curfew was imposed on Monday in a central hill station town. 50 business shops, 7 houses  and 2 mosques of the minority community set fire by Buddhists extremists in Monday violence that triggered following the death of a Sinhalese Buddhists. Police, to prevent clashes, deployed heavily-armed commandos of special task force in Theldeniya and Pallekele areas of Kandy district where riots have left two dead. President Maithripala Sirisena and the Cabinet on Tuesday decided to declare a state of emergency for 10 days following the violence prevailed in some parts of the country, Minister of Social Empowerment S B Dissanayake said. A Gazette notification would be issued right awa...
Post a Comment
Read more