Fairouz put on her best clothes for this picture. But also, for her three children, who she had to leave behind in war-ridden Syria in 2017. She hasn’t been able to embrace them since then.

The civil war in Syria is raging at its greatest intensity when Fairouz’ husband, her son and one of her daughters go on the dangerous voyage to cross the Mediterranean Sea. They make it across safe and sound and travel to the Netherlands. “After one and a half years I obtained a visa, but sadly three of my children did not,” Fairouz explains. “They are of legal age and thus weren’t allowed to come with me, even though as a mother it doesn’t matter if they are zero, ten or thirty years old.”

Video chatting
Fairouz settles down in Krommenie and tries to maintain her former every day family life through video chatting and texting. It doesn’t work. “Until the war, we lived as a close family together in one house in Damascus. Now we live in four different countries. The loss is sometimes unbearable.”

New arrivals
Tears are bound to stream down her face when she talks about her family and the war. That makes her resilience all the more special. “I want to keep going forward, even if that is almost impossible! Despite everything, I keep hoping and praying for better times. In the mean time I integrate myself here and I try my best to learn the language and culture. I also work as volunteer for new arrivals. This way I can offer people warmth and attention, since not everyone receives these. I’m convinced every human has a right to those things.”

Fairouz was born in Lebanon. She grew up in Kuwait, but when the Gulf War broke out, she had to flee with her young family.