BushraJordan
By Lorrie Miller, University of British Columbia

Due the war, our family was separated. I live here in Jordan with my mother and two of my brothers. Two of my sisters are still in Syria, one is in the US, one in Turkey and one in Saudi Arabia.
When I came here, all I could think of was “when will I go back?”. Studying was not in my mind. Eventually, I enroled in pharmacy at Philadelphia University. I didn’t have a scholarship then so for two years, life was very challenging, financially speaking. I worked as a home teacher to support myself.
But now that I have a scholarship, I can fully concentrate on my studies and on getting the best possible grades; they have gone up, by the way, with the scholarship.
Life is easier now. My late dad was a physician and also wanted me to study at university. So now I have the possibility to fulfill his dream. Yet I feel bad for all the other students who had to interrupt their studies, and who don’t have a scholarship. They need more support. I feel sorry for them. I hope they will get the same chance I did. In the future, I will help rebuild Syria. The society there will need a good drug delivery system, among many other things. I don’t expect the war to be over by the time I complete my BA in two years. So I’ll probably have to do my master’s here in Jordan or abroad, if ever that is possible.
Story provided by: UNHCR