Interview by Alexandra Ahdoot ’25 and Blaze Gambla ’25.
George is a Syrian refugee who currently lives in Beirut, Lebanon. He was born and raised in Zabadani, a suburb of Damascus, but was forced to flee Syria nine years ago upon experiencing his home being bombed and his city’s devastating destruction. The only family members George has in Lebanon are his brother and his aunt, as it was too difficult for his parents and other brother to leave Syria. Even now, the process to obtain documentation to do so is extremely challenging, and it is unknown whether they’ll be able to move to Lebanon anytime soon. In the meantime, George has adapted well to his new life in Lebanon. He works at the Jussor Children’s Center, where he teaches refugee children language and math while also incorporating fun activities such as art and music, which George is especially passionate about. Other hobbies of George’s include attending concerts, trying new foods, and cycling along the Beirut coastline. Overall, George’s dynamic personality and his ability to persevere through tough times with a smile on his face are a source of light, optimism, and hope in the larger refugee story.
Transcript:
Okay, so like I was here, the same room, when the explosion, like, happened, and I was going like, to give a lesson, an Arabic lesson, um, at 6:30 but, like, I was going, like, to be prepared. I was preparing everything at 6:03 and but, like, uh I have like a big window and I went, like, to remove that curtain to have some light because, like, I don’t have power, like, electricity. So, like, I need, I needed light, so I was gonna, like, I removed the curtain and, like, went out the room to get the laptop and the explosion happened. So after the explosion, like, all my house was, like, a mess, like, glass everywhere. Nobody, like, got hurt, like, during the explosion, like, when the explosion happened. So, like, we were lucky I guess. And yeah, the port or, like, the explosion happened one mile away from my house. Hah.
In Syria, the situation wasn’t like here in Lebanon. It was, like, worse. Heh. Because, like, cities were, like, destroyed. Like here, only, like, gunshots, like, nothing, like, bigger except for that explosion. It was like, another thing. I had to leave when the bomb was on our roof. My house was, like, getting bombed, so I, okay, my parents “yallah khalas” go. Let’s go, let’s move. In Syria like we wanted, or, like, people wanted, to, like, to live, like, freely and to, like, have some rights and stuff like this. We have some rights but, like, not all the rights like we were going for. Um. But, you know, people wanted this, and the government said no. And “teetee” we had some fights. Nobody won. I think, like, Syria lost. Like we lost, Syria. Come on guys, cheer up! People there are like, yallah, like, we want to leave. And no power, you know, like, electricity. In Damascus, it’s good, in Damascus. But, like, in other cities or, like, other areas, no. In Damascus, people there have, like, three hours power, three hours without. Like with, without, three hours, three hours. It’s like a Christmas tree.
Sometimes parents, like, project the, you know like, the trauma or, like, their trauma to their kids. Because, like, now, most of the kids, like, were not born in Syria, like, they were born here in Beirut. But like, they know, like, the war, like, they know these sounds, you know, like the explosion sounds and the gunfire and stuff like this. Because the parents, like, they always, like, watch news. They always talk about this, like about Syria, like going back to Syria, like we had to leave Syria for this, this this, you know, like, ah, so like kids, of course, like they, they follow their parents — “We don’t like here. We like to go back to Syria. And like, we don’t like to be now in Syria. We want, like, to go back to Syria, but like, not now. Because, like, Syria, it’s not safe anymore, now.” These are the parents’ words, not theirs, of course, like, they’re still, like, young.
I miss my family. I haven’t seen my family since 2014. My mom’s food is the most important.
