by: Billy Ray | Sr. Director, Middle East
My name is Haider Omar Qawas, and I am from Kobane, Syria. I am blessed to be the father of 23 children, twelve sons and eleven daughters. Two of my sons are still living with me and are not married yet. Among my younger sons, one faces challenges due to a disability that affects his legs, making it difficult to walk. I want to share that I lost two of my children, a daughter and a son, many years ago when they were just nine months and five months old.
On September 19, 2014, while we were working on our farm and the kids were playing and enjoying the peace and blessedness of our region, all of the sudden, our lives changed dramatically when ISIS launched an attack on our town, capturing most of the city. Only a small part in the east remained under our control. That night was filled with chaos, fearfulness, and violence as ISIS bombarded our area, destroying much of it and setting our home on fire, shattering the peace of our town.
The fear of ISIS, the cries of children and women, and the sound of explosions left us in confusion. We had no choice but to flee toward the nearby Turkish border. We faced several obstacles, such as the limited space in a small van, which ultimately led us to the border.
Upon reaching the border, we found that it was surrounded by barbed wire and heavily mined. We found ourselves exhausted and terrified by both ISIS and the Turkish soldiers. We encountered numerous hardships and health risks along the way. I was old and had to carry my disabled son on my back to cross the border as my wife struggled to walk. He was really scared that we would leave him behind, and his screams filled my ears. My youngest son was hungry and thirsty, crying out in fear. As my older sons tried to sneak across the border by crawling under the barbed wire, my wife suddenly cried out, pleading for them not to go that way as they risked walking on landmines and facing certain death. After a while, we discovered a narrow smuggling path that allowed us to go safely past the dangers and enter Turkey, where we were able to find work in a small village called Zorlu, located just across the border from Kobani, Syria.
The following day, we headed to the Harani area where we stayed for a while, surrounded by numerous agricultural fields that grew cotton, tomatoes, and other crops. We began working there, and luckily, the farm owner provided us with a tent for shelter. They also offered us free food and drink.
After a while, we made our way to Silopi and then to Zakho at the Ibrahim Khalil Gate, where we registered our names. That night, we arrived in the Kurdistan Region, specifically in Zakho city, where we were given food and drinks. We spent the night there until the next morning when seventeen buses arrived to take us and some other people to the Darshakaran, which housed a refugee camp. Before heading to the camp, we were taken to a mosque where we received food, drinks, mattresses, and blankets. We were informed that those who wished to stay in the camp could do so, while others with relatives in Kurdistan were free to leave. Because two of my sons had been in Soran since 2013, we chose to go to Soran to be with our relatives.
Upon arriving there, we registered our names at the immigration office and local government requesting shelter, as we were unable to afford the rent.
After a while, an organization came to check to see how we were doing. They said they could build our family and dozens of our relatives permanent homes in the valley. We could hardly believe our ears. Then situated close to the center of the valley, we relocated along with dozens of our relatives. Later we learned that our children could also continue their schooling, which they desperately missed.
World Orphans not only gave us a place to live but opened up a school just for our kids. Later on, they built a medical clinic and a dental clinic; then, they gave our women sewing lessons. It wasn’t long before my sons found work in the market. We could not believe how God’s hand had protected us through all of the changes and the trauma.
I know that life will not always turn out like I planned, but at this time in my life, I am thanking God for giving me this place to thrive.
Even so, during summer holiday, our kids go to language school; they have always loved languages, and at the World Orphans community center, they are able to learn not just Arabic and Kurdish, but English too. I guess it’s true that they would never have dreamed of having these kinds of educational opportunities if they stayed in Syria. We lost our home but not our hope, and at least we still had each other.
Now we want to express our gratitude and thanks to World Orphans and everyone working behind the scenes. Because of your kindness and generosity, our wives can stay peacefully at home to cook, we are able to work in the market, and our children can study and enjoy their life.
Thank you, World Orphans!
This article was originally published in the World Orphans Fall Insight Magazine 2024.