Salma

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Hello, My Name Is Salma Abadi

Hello, my name is Salma Abadi. Me and family had to leave Syria because of the war... due to unconventional groups. We tried very hard to get to America, but with the type of government that was in place at at the time; it made it very difficult to even try and make it considerable for the immigration organizations to consider us. I come from a lonely life. I have no siblings. I have parents but they were very traditional and I was not really sure if I believed in the same things they did (mainly my father). I mean I’m Muslim, However, I believed in things that if I were to preach it out to my president, Bashar Al-Assad , those would’ve been my last words (I’m very passionate you see). Like equality for women not only in Syria, but all around the world. It seemed as if to my society we were the ones who were expected to cook and clean and take care of the children. As if when we are born out of the womb the role of a women has already been assigned. Personally I think that’s bullshit.

When I was younger in elementary school, I spoke my mind about feminine rights. Mudaris (Teacher) Haamda was infuriated and disciplined me. When my mother and father heard of this news they were very ashamed. My mother was mainly upset because of the backlash I would get after my comments were made, alongside the discipline. However, my thoughts didn’t change. I still believe that no matter your sexual preference, no matter your skin color, no matter your religion you still deserve that well precious life of the white man in America. That’s something my grandmother taught me. I think my parents know that America is turning very progressive... well at least less conservative. It makes me very happy, but it makes my father mad. Conservative people aren’t bad, I have much respect for them. Even when it seems that they are afraid of me. That’s a misconception people have of me. However, America is a place where my parents think they can start their life over.

My mother had me when she was 16. My father was 33. That kind of stuff happens in the eastern world. Like in Ethiopia. It’s illegal there now. Good for them. The legal age is 17 in Syria. However, you can be 13 and still get married and have children. That’s just something I didn’t see myself doing.

I know i’m strong young woman. And I wanted to live out my full potential. Women are as powerful as a man. And I needed people to understand that. Anyways, that’s kind of why I didn’t have friends. Because, my moral values were different than the others. It’s fine though, I had books. Sherlock Holmes and Moby Dick were my best friends. Besides, I wasn’t sad about the fact of not having ‘real friends’, because I never had any. So, how can you be sad if you don’t understand the feeling of having friends? That’s what all the kids thought about me at school and outside of school, that I was sad. I rarely ever got out of the house. Primarily because it was not really safe . However, I still went out... if I had to. Usually to get books. But whenever I got out, I would have to find 3 other girls to come with me, for our safety. Which could be a challenge sometimes. I would usually just ask my family friends. They lived in my estate.

One of my teachers liked the fact that I read a lot. So, she lent me her books sometimes. Things like Gone With The End and Pride and Prejudice, even the controversial series Harry Potter. Reading these books opened a whole world for me. It allowed me to enter mazes of other people’s lives. Escape. It allowed me to escape my life from time to time. An escape is something that everyone needs from time to time, i’m just glad I found my escape through words. I loved to play sports but it was difficult because of my hijab. It can get very hot in West Asia. So wearing a black cloth on top of your head is not the most comfortable in everyday situations. Usually I would play with the kids who didn’t go to my school or didn’t go to school at all. It was fun, because I enjoyed myself and they didn’t think I was weird. They just saw me as a normal girl, and I liked that.

Depression? No. It was just a way of life. It’s kind of always had been that way.

My father had a friend who lived in Chicago, Illinois In America. That was our final destination. However, since there was an unfortunate travel and visa ban in America, it made it very difficult and nearly impossible to get to America. I understood and still do understand Trump’s reasoning in placing a travel ban in Syria, ISIS is growing, better safe than sorry...I guess. But just because I understand, that doesn’t necessarily mean I agree with the man. Our plan was to sail to Italy and settle there until we could become citizens of Italy, then we would manage to get passports. Once we arrived in Italy we would book a flight to America, as if we’re just visiting, but really it’d be more of a “permanent stay”. My father apparently had “connections” in Italy. Now that I think about it, my father had a lot of “connections” around the world. Whenever I tried and talked to him about it, he would always shoo me off and tell me “to go make myself useful”. These “connections” were probably very illegal, and since I was nothing but a 12 year old girl, i’d be the last person he’d tell. Maybe if I was anything other than a 12 year old girl, he’d tell me what he truly meant with these connections.

I have to go, my mother has food ready, Shawarma, my favorite.