Dunia Al-Melhm and Mohammed Sarhan have a good reason to smile. They’re finally getting a glimpse of their new home.
The pair travelled a long way.
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They were both studying at Al Salam school in Turkey, just five kilometres from the Syrian border.
“When I was in Turkey, we were able to hear when there were missiles over the near city to Reyhanli,” Sarhan said.
Mohammed is originally from Raqqa, northeast of Syria.
When the so-called Islamic State eventually took over, he and his family fled to Turkey for shelter.
“I don’t have any home left there to come back to,” he said.
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His fellow classmate, Dunia, lived through a similar experience.
She and her family also fled her birthplace of Homs in 2012 after her father was captured by government forces and killed.
Her former home is now completely destroyed.
“I feel bad, I feel sad, I feel deep sorrow because that’s happening in my town, in my hometown,” she said.
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But both Dunia and Mohammed are looking forward.
Mohammed is enrolled in computer engineering, while Dunia will be studying microbiology.
The Syrian Kids Foundation will cover the students’ living costs, while Concordia University will pay their tuition.
“As a community, it was really important for us to play a role in helping people who were in really difficult situations,” said Bram Freeman, the university’s vice president of Advancement and External Relations.