This is Sara, a Little Ripples trained community member living in Ioannina, Greece. She is from Kurdistan, an autonomous region of Iraq. Sara, her husband, and their two sons were forced to leave their home country because of the current governing party.
Sara has a college degree and studied medicine. In Kurdistan, she worked in a hospital lab collecting samples and analyzing patients’ blood work. Before leaving, she aspired to return to school and get a Master’s degree specializing in hematology.
Her family has been in Greece for two-and-half years, and just recently had their official interview in order to receive asylum. The most challenging part of their journey to Greece was walking four days through the jungle from Turkey to Greece. They had no food or water and their smallest child was a very young baby. They first arrived in Thessaloniki, and from there took a bus to Ioannina where they registered for support. When they arrived in Greece their biggest challenges were not knowing anyone and not speaking Greek.
Things are much better now. Sara’s husband has a job in a potato factory and her 9-year-old son goes to school. They might stay in Greece. They dream about opening a Kurdish restaurant in Athens and building a life here. Her hope is for her children to be educated, to speak many languages, get a good education, and study whatever they want for as long as they can.
When we asked Sara what message she wanted to share with the world, it was simple: “For the world, I tell them to let there be peace, no violence, and no racism.”
I agree with you, Sara. And I’m honored to work next to you as we build peace together