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  • Writer's pictureMechthild

No school for Yemeni siblings


Selva and her sister, two gentle young women

In 2017 the conflict in Yemen has been intensifying, almost unnoticed by the news that is dominated by the Syrian war. I noticed two very shy girls with beautiful eyes watching me – and I tried to speak to them. In broken English, but mainly relying on Google translate, she told me her story:

Selva (23) her sister (20), and brother (18) were born in Saudi Arabia. Since they had no citizenship there, they had to leave in 2016. That also ended their education, which was already sporadic in Saudi Arabia.

Selva, the eldest had 3 years of school, her sister 1 year. She was very sad that her brother only went to school a half year before they left Saudi Arabia. There was no school for any of the 3 siblings in Yemen.

How did the family made the decision to send their children off?

(Google translate lost us here - and sadness set in).

In January 2017 they booked a flight to Jordan and continued to Ankara. A bus brought them to Izmir. They arrived a month before my stay in June 2017 on Lesbos. They are hopeful and want to go to school to learn English.

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