LEBANON / REFUGEE BOY ABDULHAY

As the Syrian conflict enters its ninth year, half of the country’s population remains forcefully displaced, with more than 5.6 million Syrians living as refugees across the region. Little Abdulhay and his family are among the millions of refugees who are increasingly contemplating whether and when to return. But many are held back by fear. UNHCR

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:11
• Production Date: 15 March 2019
• Asset Language: Arabic
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES - UNHCR
• Subject Topical: CONFLICT SITUATION; REFUGEES
• Geographic Subject: SYRIA
• MAMS Id: 2368193
• Parent Id: 2368193
• Alternate Title: unifeed190315b

Description

STORY: LEBANON / REFUGEE BOY ABDULHAY
TRT: 1:11
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ARABIC /NATS

DATELINE: 8-9 MARCH 2019, MOHAMMARA, NORTH LEBANON

Shotlist

1. Various shots, Abdulhay playing football with kids
2. Various shots, Abdulhay doing homework in tent
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdulhay, 8-year-old Syrian refugee:
’I am scared to go back because war means shooting. ‘’
4. Close up, Rana, Abdulhay’s mother
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Rana, Syrian refugee:
‘’I suffered more when I tried to flee. I slept for a whole month at a checkpoint until I crossed over with my children.’’
6. Med shot, Rana watching Abdulhay as he reads
7. Close up, Abdulhay washing his hands
8. Med shot, Abdulhay washing his hands
9. Med shot, Abdulhay fixing sheet outside tent
10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdulhay, 8-year-old Syrian refugee:
‘’When we went up the mountain, my shoes fell off. My brother carried me on his back. ’My shoes…they were yellow and pink. I don’t know where they are now.’’
11. Wide shot, Abdulhay fixing tent and leaving
12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdulhay, 8-year-old Syrian refugee:
‘’I want to be a doctor so that the children of Syria can no longer be hurt.’’
13. Wide shot, Abdulhay playing football

Storyline

Little Abdulhay and his familly are among the millions of refugees who are increasingly contemplating whether and when to return. But many are held back by fear.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdulhay, 8-year-old Syrian refugee:
’I am scared to go back because war means shooting. ‘’

Eight-year-old Abdulhay is as old as the war in Syria. His family lived under siege in Eastern Ghouta where the children suffered from malnutrition. When Abdulhay father was killed by a sniper, the family fled to Lebanon.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Rana, Syrian refugee:
‘’I suffered more when I tried to flee. I slept for a whole month at a checkpoint until I crossed over with my children.’’

Abdulhay and his family come from Eastern Ghouta, an enclave near Damascus where tens of thousands were trapped for years. One day his father slipped out to get food from a nearby community. Along the way, a sniper shot him dead, leaving his mother, Rana, to raise her five children on her own. They managed to escape to Damascus in 2014. By then, Abdulhay and his siblings were malnourished and had missed months of schooling. But life in the capital, and then in Homs, was a struggle too. After several months they fled to Lebanon, eventually making their way to an informal settlement near Tripoli, in the north of the country.

Abdulhay remembers the journey.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdulhay, 8-year-old Syrian refugee:
‘’When we went up the mountain, my shoes fell off. My brother carried me on his back. ’My shoes…they were yellow and pink. I don’t know where they are now.’’

Whether, and when, to return is a question facing millions of Syrian refugees in the region. Meanwhile, Abdulhay who is the second in his class, has a clear idea what future he wants.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdulhay, 8-year-old Syrian refugee:
‘’I want to be a doctor so that the children of Syria can no longer be hurt.’’

As the Syrian conflicts enters its ninth year, half of the country’s population has been forcefully displaced with more than 5.6 million Syrians live as refugees across the region. Millions more are internally displaced.