This oral history was collected and edited by the George Ewart Evans Centre for Storytelling as part of the Bawso Stories project.

The Bawso Stories project is an innovative partnership project between George Ewart Evans Centre for Storytelling (University of South Wales), specialist support organisation Bawso and National Museum Wales. This project was funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Consent has been given for this story to be shared
a. In the archives and collections of Amgueddfa Cymru (Museum Wales) 
b. On websites, e.g. The People’s Collection Wales, Bawso, The University of South Wales, Amgueddfa Cymru, etc. 
c. On social media, e.g. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. 
d. In written publications, e.g. project reports, journal articles, etc. 
e. In any other uses in line with the project aims and objectives 

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Interview with Silava (Bawso Stories)

Duration: 00:29:07

Notes: P = Participant ; T = Translator

So we’ll start with the first question. Okay? So can you tell me about your experience of coming to Wales?

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            What she is saying, now, from when she was live in Syria, the Daesh, you know Daesh people, war, started war over there and they went to the school and killed loads of children. So they, she escaped for her child. She run away from that place, to others place.

In Syria or?

T            In Syria.

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She come to the border between Syria and Kurdistan. She waited there for three days, until the border opened.

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She went to Kurdistan. They give her a tent to camp.

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            They experienced very bad life in Kurdistan. They don’t have anything and just tent.

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            No water, no electric, no food.

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            They are, was big family and they have two tent only, to live in.

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            Her children, her family was scared from the tent because it’s wind, rain, dirt. Yeah.

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She and her sister-in-law used to make bread, chapati

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She stayed there for five years.

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            After that, UN and the east, they came to help her.

Who were you with in the camp?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She, with her family, and her brother-in-law with their family.

And who, who was in your family, at the time? How much, you know, how many adults? How many children and, and old were you, then?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            Five people.

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            And brother-in-law, ten family, ten people in the family.

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            Young, they all was young. [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            Her daughter was twelve years. Her son was ten years and the little one was three years.

And how old were you?

              [Conversation in Arabic]

T            Twenty five years old.

P            Yeah.

Yeah, and where in Syria were you from, originally?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            In Hasakah.

T            Hasakah.

So you were in the camp for five years and then the UN came and they, what happened next?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            They got acceptance from the government from here. They went to Iraq, first. Then after Iraq, they went to Jordan, I think. From Jordan, they went to Turkey. From Turkey, they came to here.

So you came to the UK. Where did you arrive?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            They arrived in the airport but which airport, she don’t remember, Birmingham or other one, but they bring them in Wales.

Can you remember anything about how it felt, coming to Wales, when you came?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            When she come to Wales, she was happy to see the house because five years they didn’t see the house.

And how do you, is there anything else you noticed about Wales or?

              [Conversation in Arabic]

T            She said, I feel safe. The fear in my mind was not there. So yeah.

So how do you feel about Wales, now?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            Possible, she say, I don’t know, but she’s saying, sometimes I am happy, sometimes I am scared. I don’t know what she’s saying.

Yeah. Does she have any more to say about that or?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She say, because I don’t know the language and if my children and my husband not with me, like I just lost it, I don’t know anything.

Is there anything else that you’d like to tell us about living in Wales now and, and how that feels and?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She’s saying, people in Wales are very nice, very helpful and they help us a lot.

I’m glad to hear that.

T            [Speaks Arabic].

Okay. Would you feel comfortable telling me about what the word, home, means to you, now?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            Everything.

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She say, the house, it have to be like my mother, father, sisters, brother, everyone, not just us.

And they’re not here?

T            No.

Right.

T            [Speaks Arabic].

So it’s, home is, you have the house but some things missing?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            Yes.

Okay. Can you describe a place or a time in your life that’s important to you?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She say, when I was child, with my mother, and I was with my mother and father and she remembered the last time she went to museum, the, the lady was doing with the wool. That was very important thing, time for her.

Can, can she tell, can you tell me a bit more about that, about what you saw in the museum, what you saw and what it reminded you of? That would be really lovely to hear.

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She say, when I saw that lady in museum, with the wool, she remembered her childhood with her mother. She used to take the sheep.

Wool?

T            Wool and make with it the mat and also jacket. So

Can you tell me a bit more about what your mother would do with the wool and if maybe you have a memory of what you would, would you help her or would you watch her? Could you tell us a bit more detail?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She used to help her mum because the, their situation was not good, they didn’t have enough money and everything. She used to help her mum. She used to bring the she, sheep. They cut, she used to take the skin out, clean it, dry it, then make it with her mum and she say, we make it a pillow, also, the [speaks Arabic] jacket.

P            Jacket.

T            Jacket and also the rug with it.

Yeah.

T            Yeah.

Can you remember how you felt, or how you felt, helping your mother and how, how old, also, how old, how old would you have been?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            I was happy to helping my mother. Also I was so sad because this life is very difficult life.

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            Twelve or thirteen years old.

So no school?

P            Me? No.

Can you describe a bit about where you were living, what it was like?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            They is, from that place, later on they moved to village.

So with the wool, can she describe, can you describe the technique that you would use? Did it look like what you saw in the museum or was it something different?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She used to do like this but they used to do their legs.

P            Yeah.

T            They used to use their

So the lady in the museum was doing it with this, the wheel.

T            With the wheel, yeah.

And, and you would use your hand and your leg?

T            Yeah.

Yeah. How did the wool feel? Was it nice to touch or, or what was it like?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She says, soft but it go all over our clothes.

P            Yeah.

T            Body.

P            Yeah. [Speaks Arabic].

T            Also get

P            Yeah.

T            Cough with it.

So it would go in your throat?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

So for how long were you doing that, helping your mum? Until, was it until you got married or?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            Yeah, until she get the marry.

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            The mattress and

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            Then she worked, also, with the pillow, to make a pillow and mattress.

At home or was that in a, in a place, in a factory?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            In her house.

Was that before you got married or after you got married?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She said, before she used to help her mother with that things but after marriage, she used to do like, yeah.

Is that because your husband also did that or?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            No. Only her thing.

It was just your thing?

T            Yeah.

You’d do it? Interesting. Yeah. Is there anything else you would like to tell us, she’d like, you’d like to tell us about the wool and this, this kind of occupation?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She say, life was very, very hard. If we bring one apple, we have to cut it in fifteen pieces to everyone to eat. If we bring the cucumber, we have to cut it in fifteen pieces, so everyone can have. The life was very hard.

P            Yeah. Yeah.

It’s interesting because, in the museum, we see people making this, we, with, you know, spinning the wool and it’s very, we, what we would say, nostalgic, but this is giving a very real insight into that, that life because I think, for those people using the wheel, back then, it would have been the same.

T            It would, same, yeah. [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She, they say, we didn’t used to have. We have to do, use our hands and legs to do that.

Okay. Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your childhood?

[Conversation in Arabic].

T            She said, my mother was very ill. So she have to do everything and she used to buy the cow, sheep and then, take it out the milk or cut their skin and sell it, make butter, milk, sell the milk.

Were you the eldest?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She’s the oldest but she didn’t go to school, and she feel like I’m failure and don’t know anything.

It’s interesting. A lot of the women we’re speaking to are the eldest

T            Yeah.

In their families and I think that, we, the, was it a lot of responsibility?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

Can you tell us a bit about how that felt, a bit more?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She say, we were, she have three sisters and one brother and father used to work faraway and used to come only after fifteen days, to home, and she say, when my mother get ill, she have to give all the responsibility of doing work and must look after the brother and sisters.

And how old were you, then, when you had to start helping out like that?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            Fifteen, sixteen.

It’s very young.

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            Nineteen years old, she married.

So you said that you didn’t go to school, and that made you feel unhappy?

              [Conversation in Arabic]

T            She say, yeah, I didn’t go to school but here, also, when I also go to school, I don’t understand anything, no reading, no writing.

P            Just little and [speaks Arabic].

T            [Speaks Arabic]. Little, she said.

I’m sure it will, it will come.

T            [Speaks Arabic].

It takes a long time.

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

We believe in you. Yeah.

T            [Speaks Arabic].

It will just take some time. Yeah.

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            Yeah. She, she’s saying, I don’t have that ability or I’m not feeling that confident. You have a confident on her but she doesn’t. Yeah?

Yeah. I’m sorry. It’s very, it sounds hard. Yeah.

T            [Speaks Arabic].

Did your siblings go to school?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            Yeah, they used to go to school but only her, she didn’t.

Is there anything else about your childhood that you’d like to share?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She say, all my childhood was like hard.

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She say, never went out to play or be happy or laugh. No.

Just working?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

And then, you got married at nineteen? Yeah.

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

Did she feel the, did that, was that any different or?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            Same, hard job and everything. Nothing changed.

Is there anything else she’d like, you’d like to share about that period of your life, being young, a young woman or

T            Anything?

Shall we move on to the next question?

              [Conversation in Arabic]

T            She said, with the family, my life was little better, childhood with my family but when I married, I thought it just to wear the princess dress and gold and everything but when she married, it was worse, when, because then she thought, maybe after two years, everything will be normal as before but she say, just like responsibility to get married and do everything.

A lot of pressure. Yeah.

T            [Speaks Arabic].

Okay. I’m wondering, if you can tell us about a moment where you feel something changed for you and?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            When she came over here, so her life became better, her children go school, husband looking after.

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She don’t work, now, as before.

I wonder what are your hopes for the future?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            Their children to become something.

Do, do you know what your children would like to be, now?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            Daughter want to become a doctor or pharmacy.

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            Whichever comes then, she will

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            And her younger daughter, she want to become a lawyer.

That’s great and I also, you also want to learn your other, is there any, is, do you have any other hopes for the future for you?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

For you?

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            I get citizenship, over here. So I can travel to see my mother because it, it’s been ten year, she haven’t seen her mum.

Yeah, that’s a very long time. I’m sorry it’s been so long.

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            Yeah.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with us, today, or that you feel it’s important for people to know about your history?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            Yes.

Oh it’s just because it’ll pick it up on there.

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

Can you start again?

T            [Speaks Arabic].

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            Never give up the life.

Yeah, yeah. So never keep, never give up trying?

T            Trying, yeah.

You’re very, very brave.

T            [Speaks Arabic].

It’s a pleasure to speak to you.

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She say, I’m not very

P            No.

T            I’m the weakest person.

P            [Speaks Arabic].

T            She always cry.

Crying is, crying is healthy. Crying is good.

P            No.

T            No, crying unhealthy.

Oh, sorry. Sorry, sorry for that. Shall we finish there? Yeah.