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STORY: PORTUGAL / SYRIAN STUDENT
TRT: 02:28
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 16 MARCH 2016, LISBON, PORTUGAL
1. Various shots, Alaa working on her model
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Alaa, Syrian Student:
“There were no chance to complete my study in a place where people is dying and I am trying to live my life normal so I decide I have to look for a chance to complete my study in a way that I can be a proper architect who think in a good way.”
3. Various shots, Alaa in the classroom discussing model
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Helena Barroco, Secretary, Global Platform for Syrian Students
“It is a good example how a small country like Portugal undergoing very difficult economic situa-tion was able nevertheless to make a pilot experience and show that Europe can do much more than it is doing, creating a win-win situation.”
5. Various shots, Lisbon
6. Various shots, Alaa with elderly retired couple
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Alaa, Syrian Student:
“In the future of Syria, I have to live in the future, I have to be there on the land rebuilding from the zero, as an architect I have to be everywhere, because Syria is my first country. It is my dream but also I cannot forget what Portugal did for me. Portugal is also my second country. I am in both places, not only place.”
8. Various shots, Architecture University of Lisbon
9. Various shots, Alaa with other students
A second-year architecture student in Syria, Alaa’s studies were interrupted by the war. But now with a scholarship from a Portugal-based non-profit, she has been given a chance to finish her degree in Lisbon.
Alaa is putting the finishing touches on her model. It’s a social housing project; her architectural vision for a community.
SOUNDBITE (English) Alaa, Syrian Student:
“There were no chance to complete my study in a place where people is dying and I am trying to live my life normal so I decide I have to look for a chance to complete my study in a way that I can be a proper architect who think in a good way.”
With backing from the Portuguese government, the Global Platform for Syrian Students has al-lowed 150 Syrian students like Alaa to study in 10 countries.
SOUNDBITE (English) Helena Barroco, Secretary, Global Platform for Syrian Students
“It is a good example how a small country like Portugal undergoing very difficult economic situa-tion was able nevertheless to make a pilot experience and show that Europe can do much more than it is doing, creating a win-win situation.”
Alaa lives with a Portuguese couple, her second family, she says. The opportunity to finish her degree drives her.
SOUNDBITE (English) Alaa, Syrian Student:
“In the future of Syria, I have to live in the future, I have to be there on the land rebuilding from the zero, as an architect I have to be everywhere, because Syria is my first country. It is my dream but also I cannot forget what Portugal did for me. Portugal is also my second country. I am in both places, not only place.”
Alaa hopes to apply for a Masters in Architecture next year. In the meantime, she is still improving her Portuguese.
