The future of Syria depends on one thing | Muzoon Rakan Almellehan | TEDxTeen

The answer to ending the crisis in Syria? Education.

Muzoon Rakan Almellehan was born in 1998, and she lived in the province of Daraa, Azraa city, studied in Syria and moved to Jordan to seek asylum. When she arrived at the Zaatari refugee camp, her main concern since arrival at the camp was the education. Since she joined the school, she started to form campaigns to encourage education in cooperation with "Save the Children" organisation. Her activities caught the attention of UNICEF, the UNHCR and "Save the Children" organization. UNICEF granted her a title of ambassador of education in Zaatari refugee camp.The media delegations came to broadcast her activities, to conduct interviews about what she was doing in the community. The UNICEF staff called her "Malala of Syria." She was impressed by the name before seeing the person. Muzoon and her family were honored to meet Malala, who is considered a symbol of education and who sacrificed her life for the sake of education in the world.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Refugees are normal people,

just like you, just like me.

I have never ever thought
I will become a refugee.

When the war began in Syria,
everything changed upside down.

There was no hope.

There was no future.

When my dad saw that we cannot go
to school properly,

we cannot get our basic needs,
he cannot go to his work as a teacher,

he decided that to flee our home
to go to Jordan to live in a refugee camp.

We had no choice.

But definitely I was really sad.

I was crying all the time.

I did not want to flee my home,
to leave everything behind:

my friends, my relatives,
my country where I was born,

especially my school.

I thought I cannot continue my education
in a place like the camp.

And when my dad said,
"Don't bring heavy things with you.

Just we want to take with us and pick up
the most important things that we need,"

I did not listen.

I picked up with me my school books.

And I didn't bring anything with me
to the refugee camp, just my books.

When we were on our way to Jordan -

and we had to walk for three hours
to get on the border with Jordan -

my dad saw me.

I was struggling to carry my bag.

And he said, "Let me carry it"
and, "Yeah, you cannot carry it."

And when he carried the bag, and he said,
"It's really heavy. What did you bring?"

I said, "I brought my books."

He just said, "You are crazy."

(Laughter)

"Why you brought your books?

You don't need them."

I told my dad, "If I did not find
a school in a refugee camp,

I will study by those books.

These books are my power.

These books are my future."

Upon our arrival to the refugee camp,

it was really difficult
to deal with the life there,

to start in a new place
where was no electricity,

to live in tent and place
completely different from Syria.

Syria was different
from what the camp is.

And first question I asked my dad,

not to go outside the camp
or to get a better life,

just I asked him, "Where is the school?"

And when he found out there is a school,
that moment changed my life,

and I realized all challenges are nothing

in front of getting on
the right of education.

First day, I went to school,

and I was thrilled
to come back to school again

and to have my knowledge

as a person who believes in education.

But sadly, I saw many girls
and many children

who don't believe in education,

think the education, it is not priority,
it is not the best way for the future.

In that moment,

and as person who considers the education
is really important for me,

I considered it important for everyone.

So, I told myself to start my own mission
to encourage them to go back to school.

And when I was going from tent to tent

to tell the people
about the importance of education,

they were saying, "It is not your job
to tell us or to advise us."

But they gave me stronger motivation.

As they told me - those people
who didn't listen to me -

there is still something to do

because I believe in education.

Education is the way
that we can face challenges.

And it is the way that can rebuild
our countries again.

We need a strong generation:
generation to be educated,

not just to be called refugees.

We want to be hard numbers,
not to count us as numbers in media,

or just we are refugees.

We want the refugees to have other names:

to be doctors, to be engineers,
to be teachers, and whatever they want.

Unfortunately, most of people think
that refugees just need basic needs.

But this is not true.

We need more valuable things.

It is education.

It is something
that could make me a person.

And the education is the thing
which gives us everything.

After three years of living in the camp
and talking on the behalf of children -

and I became very known
as an education advocate for them -

I had a chance to come here to the UK.

I was really happy to come here

to start a new life,
to think more about my education.

But I didn't stop to fight for others.

Yeah, that's great:

I go to school, and I have chances here,
and I can continue my studies.

But I cannot be completely happy

without seeing all the children
can have access to education.

I will do as much as I can
to help them to be heard.

Those people who are suffering,
who are living in refugee camps,

they didn't choose to become refugees.

It is not their fault.

It is something of not their making,

but the hard situation,
the difficult circumstances forced them

to become refugees
and to suffer in their lives.

No matter who you are,
no matter how old you are,

the most important is to have education,

to have knowledge,
to fight for your rights.

Weapon like education
could give us everything we want.

We can make a change,
and we can make our lives much better.

I'm not talking in front of you today
because I'm better than people

or I'm special.

No, this is not true.

I am standing today because
I have responsibilities more than people.

When you talk on behalf of others,
that means you have to be strong enough

to make their voices to be heard
and to tell people about their suffering.

Look how lucky you are.

You might think - the people
who are listening today, all of them,

maybe they think our lives
don't matter, and we suffer,

we don't want to go school,

for example, I cannot do anything,

but just look to the people
who don't have education,

who are suffering
to have access to knowledge.

You have the schools, you have teachers,

you have friends,

but other people, they don't.

We have to stand with them
and to give them opportunities.

It is not something that's easy to do.

It is really difficult,
but it is not impossible.

Just we have to start.

As me as a person, I can spread my voice,
I can tell you my stories,

and it is not just lesson to tell you
about the importance of education.

All of us know about
the importance of education.

And we know that education
is the way to build our future.

Especially people here,
they know these things,

but the most important thing
that we have to know

is to think about these things
after we go home.

We don't want to make today, this event,
just to talk and then forget.

We have to go to our homes
and teach our children

and to give them more hope

and to let them love each other
and accept others.

Refugee people didn't want
to flee their homes,

so when we accept them,

when we give them opportunities,

in that moment,
we can make them strong enough

to go and rebuild their countries again.

That's what we have to do.

It is easy to talk about people,
but it is difficult to help them.

And me alone, I cannot do anything.

Every single person here in this room

could help us, could give us
more opportunities.

When you stand with us, when you love us,
we can help you and you can help us.

We cannot just listen to the media

or just without thinking about refugees
and their difficulties.

So, we have to know these things
which are the most valuable things.

And for me as the voice now

and as the youngest
Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF,

I have huge responsibilities.

It is wonderful thing to be ambassador,

but it is also a long way to go

to help other children
to have access to education

and to give them knowledge
which gives them stability

and which gives them
skills for their future.

And as I said, no matter who we are,
just we have, all of us, to work together

and to have the solidarity.

We don't win when we hate each other,
but we win when we love each other,

when we stand together
to raise our voices

and to give more hope
for those who don't have hope.

And this is actually responsibility
for everyone of us today and every day.

And let's start today.

We don't want to make a change tomorrow.

We cannot actually have the change
tomorrow without actually starting now.

Now is the moment
that could change our lives.

That depends on you,
and everyone is listening now.

It is, you know, the responsibility
of all of us to make a global peace.

Knowing each other,
this is the great thing.

And education is our way
to have the world to be a better place

and to be stronger.

We cannot be stronger without education.

Our education makes us
who we are, who we want.

And all of us matter.

It doesn't matter to be great to start;
you have to start to be great.

And in that moment,
you can build better lives for others.

And with you today, I hope all of us
could do something and stand together

and think more deeply
about those who are suffering

because they really need us.

They don't need us when they
are happy in their countries.

They need us in these moments,
in these difficult moments,

when they are suffering
and they don't have hope.

And that depends on you.

Give them hope, and let's start today.

And thank you so much.

(Applause) (Cheers)