A Syrian teen would have never thought her life would turn into hell by travelling aboard a small boat which carried 500 forced migrants to a European country, most probably Greece. Three years after she left her country, she has still been living on a financial knife edge due to Syria’s ongoing civil conflict.
Doaa al-Zamell’s ordeal actually began in 2012, when her family residing in the rural province of Dera’a was forced to flee into Jordan to secure a safer future. As they could not overcome their financial fears, the nine-member family moved into Egypt where they spent nearly three years working in a luxury holiday village, called al-Ghamara. Al-Zamell was working as a tailor to help her father who tried to scantly pick up their livelihood.
The 19-year-old was eager to find a lifestyle with more comfortable conditions. So, she decided to leave for Europe along with her fiancé, Bashir, aboard a small boat, crowded with hundreds of immigrants, on a clandestine sea journey, despite all challenges that lie ahead of them.
The boat, carrying more than 500 immigrants, capsized off the island of Maltha in September en route to Greece. Almost all migrants - -Palestinians, Sudanese and Egyptian nationals - - on aboard died in the tragic boat accident, while only 11 immigrants, including al-Zamil, survived despite hunger and thirst they had to endure for the next three days after the boat had sunk.
Bashir, the Syrian teen’s fiancé, tragically died because he could not tread water enough to stay afloat like many others. Some immigrants died immediately on the spot after being cut into pieces accidentally by the boat’s propeller, while some others could not withstand the rough sea and and many victims either died by drowning or from hunger in 72 hours. Also, many had already committed suicide by letting themselves drift into the open sea, when a Greek coast guard boat recognized their plight in the middle of the violent waters.
The Syrian girl desperately awaited help for her survival, while she was starving close to death for three days. By the time the Greek coast guard officials lended a helping hand to her, she had witnessed not only the death of her fiancé, but also the death of a baby she was looking after for the last three days after her mother passed away when the boat sank.
The coast guard took al-Zamell to the island of Crete, where a Greek family has been hosting her ever since. The Syrian girl now looks for an opportunity to be reunited with her relatives living in Sweden. And she expects to be conferred a Greek citizenship, as she has turned into a brave example for all Syrian nationals trying to set out for a European country in hopes of finding a better living.
