Author Shilan examines a storyboard piece during the Women Storytelling workshops delivered by Lighthouse Relief in partnership with I Am You, designed for women to tell their stories in their own terms.
In 2016, when I came from Turkey to Greece, I was sad at the beginning because I missed my friends. In Lesvos I met many friends and I felt so good, because I started to go to school.
My dream was to speak English. Because I wanted to make friends and to speak with everyone by myself, without anyone to translate. If I need a doctor, I can go and tell him the problem.
When I was young I really loved to speak English. The first day I went to English class in Syria, my teacher taught us the sentence “I go to school.” I really loved this sentence, but in my country there were not many English lessons.
Before, I could not speak any English. But when I came to Greece I started to go to school and to English class, and I learned more and more. In Ritsona, I go to English class everyday. Now my English is good, and even a woman in the camp asked me to translate for her.
I am really thankful to my God and my teachers, who taught me English.
About the Author: Shilan is 18 and originally from Kobane, Syria. She speaks Arabic, Kurdish, Turkish and English, and she wants to be a professional translator. She has been in Greece for 1 year and 10 months, 4 of those in Ritsona refugee camp. Shilan attends activities held by Lighthouse Relief's Youth Engagement Space including yoga, boxing, and creative writing.