Syrian activist who built new life in Saint John says she ‘finally belongs’ - BERITAJA

Across wars, exile and a life of displacement, Nour Owiss says 1 emotion ever remained retired of reach: belonging.

Now calling New Brunswick location since past fall, Owiss says Canada is the first spot wherever she has genuinely felt treated arsenic an adjacent quality being.

“In Canada, I achieved my first dream — that I americium adjacent to everyone,” she said. “I commencement emotion that I belong.”

At 40 years old, the lawyer, journalist and activistic has already lived done experiences galore group could scarcely imagine: exile camps, warfare zones, statelessness, favoritism and rebuilding life from scratch, clip and again, crossed borders and upheaval. She says the decades of resilience yet paid off, adding that Canada feels for illustration “Disneyland” compared pinch the instability she near behind.

“In the beginning, I was hopeless,” she said. “I person nary future, nothing. But present successful Canada … I americium truthful satisfied successful my Disneyland.”

“I ever thought that I americium unsocial … but successful Canada, I americium not alone,” Owiss says. “Even I americium present alone, I don’t person immoderate 1 of my family members, but I americium not alone.”

A life shaped by displacement

Owiss traces her family’s displacement backmost generations, to the Nakba of 1948, erstwhile Palestinians were forced from their homes during the creation of Israel.

Born to a Palestinian family successful Saudi Arabia, Owiss says her family later moved to Syria, wherever she grew up successful the Yarmouk exile campy adjacent Damascus. Displaced by warfare and forced to fly crossed aggregate countries, she says endurance defined her life for decades.

“I don’t want to beryllium a exile … but it wasn’t allowed for maine to not beryllium a refugee.”

Owiss says she has ne'er held citizenship successful immoderate country.

“As Palestinian people, we are ever refugees,” she said. “No quality wants that forever.”

But warfare would uproot her life again.

In 2012, fighting betwixt the Syrian authorities and ISIS engulfed the Yarmouk camp. Owiss says she and her younger sister were prevented from returning location from a shopping travel aft learning the area had fallen into conflict.

Her family was displaced erstwhile more. At 1 point, 7 family members were surviving together successful a azygous room while relying connected assistance and immoderate income Owiss could bring in.

She says she became the sole financial supplier for overmuch of her family during that period.

Human authorities activity — and becoming a target

Despite the instability about her, Owiss pursued higher acquisition and defense work.

She earned a rule grade and worked pinch humanitarian and improvement agencies. She besides worked arsenic a journalist, penning about quality rights, secularism, women’s equality, LGBTQ2 authorities and civilian freedoms successful the Middle East.

Her activity yet made her a target. Owiss says her outspoken views and activism led to threats and placed her astatine consequence nether Bashar Al-Assad’s authorities successful Syria, wherever she says she was declared wanted by the authorities.

“It was the worst clip successful my life,” she said. “There was nary spot for maine successful Syria.”

“At that time, I became wholly stateless, homeless. There was nary spot for me. I should find a house, a country, a work, money.”

What followed were years of activity crossed Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq — each state bringing caller barriers.

In Lebanon, she says discriminatory laws prevented her from pursuing postgraduate studies successful rule and quality authorities arsenic a Palestinian refugee. In Iraq, she struggled to find information and stableness arsenic a female surviving independently.

Still, she continued moving successful publicity and advocacy, producing podcasts, short films and quality authorities content. She besides founded a quality rights-focused level called Morieh.

“In immoderate different countries, location is nary choices for the women,” Owiss says. “Here, location are a batch of choices — nary spot is closed.”

‘Enjoy life. We unrecorded conscionable once.’

Everything changed, she says, the infinitesimal she arrived successful Canada. For the first time, she says, she was capable to deliberation beyond survival.

“Enjoy life,” she said. “We unrecorded conscionable once.”

Owiss now plans to study governmental subject and proceed her activity successful quality authorities advocacy.

“There is nary 1 present judging maine aliases springiness maine immoderate things to power me,” Owiss says. “That’s fixed maine a abstraction to beryllium myself, to proceed my dreams to study and beryllium moving and to person bully relations pinch the group and organization about me.”

She hopes her communicative helps Canadians spot refugees beyond headlines and governmental debates.

Behind each exile story, she says, is simply a personification carrying grief, resilience, sacrifice — and dream for a normal life.