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STORY: LEBANON / CANADA SINGLE MOTHER
TRT: 2:50
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ARABIC/NATS
DATELINE: 04 DECEMBER 2015, TRIPOLI, LEBANON
1. Wide shot, single mother Abeer sitting down with her daughter playing on the balcony of their flat
2. Close-up, hands of mother and daughter
3. Med shot, Abeer and her daughter playing a game
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abeer, Syrian refugee:
“We heard screams, wailing, gunshots.”
5. Med shot, cars and trucks driving by on the street
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abeer, Syrian refugee:
“For five hours, we sat inside unable to move. Then suddenly it was quiet.”
7. Wide shot, Abeer carries her daughter, Maryam as they leave their balcony
8. SOUNBITE (Arabic) Abeer, Syrian refugee:
“In the main square we found people slaughtered, blood everywhere. We couldn’t tell who was who.”
9. Close-up, 6 year old Maryam drawing
10. Close-up, Maryam’s drawing
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abeer, Syrian refugee:
“If I take her out, she walks with her head low. She says it’s so the sniper doesn’t hit her. She tells me to bring the mop. I ask her why. She says to dry the floor, it has blood all over it.”
12. Close-up, tilt up from booklet to Maryam flipping the pages
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Maryam, Syrian refugee:
“She died. They took her away and burned her. My toy.”
14. Close-up, Abeer in the kitchen
15. Med shot, Abeer’s mother using a chair to assist her walking
16. Med shot, Abeer, Maryam and their relatives sitting down to eat
17. Close-up, tea being poured
18. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abeer, Syrian refugee:
“That day I was feeling very upset.”
19. Close-up, Maryam drinking her tea
20. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abeer, Syrian refugee:
“I didn’t have a single penny in my pocket.”
21. Close-uo, Abeer sipping tea
22. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abeer, Syrian refugee:
“The phone rang. It was a number I didn’t recognize. I answered, they said it was UNHCR, ‘you are a candidate to be resettled, are you interested?’ I said yes, yes and I emphasized it.”
23. Close-up, pan down of Abeer packing her suitcase for Canada
24. UPSOUND (Arabic) Talk to me about Canada. How do you imagine the snow?
25. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Maryam, Syrian refugee:
“I would like it to be a bit high.”
26. Close-up, Maryam
27. SOUNBITE (Arabic) Abeer, Syrian refugee:
“I want to work in my specialty, teaching at nursery like I used to do before. This is my work. I want to learn the language. I want to make up for the days wasted.”
28. Close-up, Maryam playing with her grandmother
29. Med shot, Maryam giggling with her grandmother
30. Close-up, Maryam’s hands
31. Wide shot, Abeer, Maryam and her grandmother sitting down, grandmother giggling
A single mother and her 6-year old daughter are two of the 10,000 Syrian refugees Canada will resettle by the end of the year. 15,000 more refugees will be taken in by February, 2016.
Abeer and her daughter, Maram fled Syria for Lebanon three years ago.
Abeer said, “We heard screams, wailing, gunshots. For five hours, we sat inside unable to move. Then suddenly it was quiet. In the main square we found people slaughtered, blood everywhere. We couldn’t tell who was who.”
Abeer also said, “If I take her out, she walks with her head low. She says it’s so the sniper doesn’t hit her. She tells me to bring the mop. I ask her why. She says to dry the floor, it has blood all over it.”
Aid agencies provided some psychological support to Maryam and Abeer.
In the chaos of fleeing war, Maryam’s favorite toy, Suzannah, was left behind. Maryam said, “She died. They took her away and burned her. My toy.”
Lebanon provided safety. The former teacher struggled to provide for her daughter and her sick mother. They share a 4-bedroom flat with six other relatives. One day Abeer received an unexpected phone call. She said, “That day I was feeling very upset. I felt so much pressure and I didn’t have a single penny in my pocket. The phone rang. It was a number I didn’t recognize. I answered. They said it was UNHCR, ‘you are a candidate to be resettled, are you interested?’ I said yes, yes and I emphasized it.”
An interview followed with UNHCR and Canadian officials.
UNHCR identified this family as vulnerable and so they were offered a chance to restart their lives in Edmonton, Canada.
Maryam has never seen snow. Maryam was asked about Canada and how she imagined snow. She answered, “I would like it to be a bit high.”
Maryam’s well-being is a priority for Abeer, but she also wants to rebuild her life. She said, “I want to work in my specialty, teaching at nursery, like I used to do before. This is my work. I want to learn the language. I want to make up for the days wasted.”
International Migrants Day 2015, marks the 25th anniversary of the UN's International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. It was approved by the UN General Assembly on Dec.18, 1990.
