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Every day, I listen to harrowing stories
of people fleeing for their lives,

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00:00:17,068 --> 00:00:20,762
across dangerous borders
and unfriendly seas.

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But there's one story
that keeps me awake at night,

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00:00:26,236 --> 00:00:28,220
and it's about Doaa.

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A Syrian refugee, 19 years old,

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she was living a grinding existence
in Egypt.

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She was working day wages.

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Her dad was constantly thinking
of his thriving business back in Syria

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that had been blown to pieces by a bomb.

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And the war that drove them there
was still raging in its fourth year.

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And the community
that once welcomed them there

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had become weary of them.

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And one day, men on motorcycles
tried to kidnap her.

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Once an aspiring student
thinking only of her future,

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now she was scared all the time.

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But she was also full of hope,

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because she was in love
with a fellow Syrian refugee named Bassem.

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Bassem was also struggling in Egypt,
and he said to Doaa,

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"Let's go to Europe; seek asylum, safety.

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I will work, you can study --
the promise of a new life."

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And he asked her father
for her hand in marriage.

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And her father said yes.

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But they knew to get to Europe
they had to risk their lives,

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traveling across the Mediterranean Sea,

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putting their hands in smugglers',
notorious for their cruelty.

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And Doaa was terrified of the water.

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She always had been.
She never learned to swim.

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It was August that year,
and already 2,000 people had died

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trying to cross the Mediterranean,

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but Doaa knew of a friend who had made it
all the way to Northern Europe,

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and she thought, "Maybe we can, too."

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So she asked her parents if they could go,

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and after a painful discussion,
they consented,

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and Bassem paid his entire life savings --
2,500 dollars each --

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to the smugglers.

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It was a Saturday morning
when the call came,

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and they were taken by bus to a beach,
hundreds of people on the beach.

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They were taken then by small boats
onto an old fishing boat,

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500 of them crammed onto that boat,

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300 below, 500 above.

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There were Syrians, Palestinians,
Africans, Muslims and Christians,

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100 children, including Sandra --
little Sandra, six years old --

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and Masa, 18 months.

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There were families on that boat,
crammed together shoulder to shoulder,

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feet to feet.

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Doaa was sitting with her legs
crammed up to her chest,

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Bassem holding her hand.

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Day two on the water,
they were sick with worry

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and sick to their stomachs
from the rough sea.

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Day three, Doaa had a premonition.

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And she said to Bassem,
"I fear we're not going to make it.

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I fear the boat is going to sink."

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And Bassem said to her,
"Please be patient.

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We will make it to Sweden,
we will get married

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and we will have a future."

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Day four, the passengers
were getting agitated.

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They asked the captain,
"When will we get there?"

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He told them to shut up,
and he insulted them.

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He said, "In 16 hours we will reach
the shores of Italy."

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They were weak and weary.

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Soon they saw a boat approach --
a smaller boat, 10 men on board,

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who started shouting at them,
hurling insults,

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throwing sticks, asking them
to all disembark

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and get on this smaller,
more unseaworthy boat.

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The parents were terrified
for their children,

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and they collectively
refused to disembark.

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So the boat sped away in anger,

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and a half an hour later, came back

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and started deliberately ramming a hole
in the side of Doaa's boat,

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just below where she
and Bassem were sitting.

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And she heard how they yelled,

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"Let the fish eat your flesh!"

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And they started laughing
as the boat capsized and sank.

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The 300 people below deck were doomed.

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Doaa was holding on to the side
of the boat as it sank,

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and watched in horror as a small child
was cut to pieces by the propeller.

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Bassem said to her, "Please let go,

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or you'll be swept in and the propeller
will kill you, too."

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And remember -- she can't swim.

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But she let go and she started moving
her arms and her legs,

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thinking, "This is swimming."

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And miraculously,
Bassem found a life ring.

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It was one of those child's rings

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that they use to play
in swimming pools and on calm seas.

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And Doaa climbed onto the ring,

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her arms and her legs
dangling by the side.

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Bassem was a good swimmer,

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so he held her hand and tread water.

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Around them there were corpses.

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Around 100 people survived initially,

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and they started coming together
in groups, praying for rescue.

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But when a day went by and no one came,

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some people gave up hope,

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and Doaa and Bassem watched

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as men in the distance took their
life vests off and sank into the water.

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One man approached them
with a small baby perched on his shoulder,

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nine months old -- Malek.

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He was holding onto a gas canister
to stay afloat, and he said to them,

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"I fear I am not going to survive.

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I'm too weak. I don't have
the courage anymore."

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And he handed little Malek
over to Bassem and to Doaa,

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and they perched her onto the life ring.

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So now they were three,
Doaa, Bassem and little Malek.

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And let me take a pause
in this story right here

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and ask the question:

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why do refugees like Doaa
take these kinds of risks?

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Millions of refugees are living
in exile, in limbo.

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They're living in countries [fleeing]
from a war that has been raging

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for four years.

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Even if they wanted to return, they can't.

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Their homes, their businesses,

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their towns and their cities
have been completely destroyed.

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I saw it for myself,

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on a recent visit to Homs, in Syria.

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This is a UNESCO World Heritage City,

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and this is how that
once vibrant place looks now.

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So people continue to flee
across borders,

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into neighboring countries,

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and we build refugee camps
for them in the desert.

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Hundreds of thousands of people
live in camps like these,

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and thousands and thousands more,
millions, live in towns and cities.

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And the communities,

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the neighboring countries
that once welcomed them

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with open arms and hearts

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are overwhelmed.

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There are simply not enough schools,
water systems, sanitation.

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Even rich European countries
could never handle such an influx

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without massive investment.

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The Syria war has driven almost
four million people over the borders,

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but over seven million people
are on the run inside the country.

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That means that over half
the Syrian population

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has been forced to flee.

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Back to those neighboring
countries hosting so many.

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They feel that the richer world
has done too little to support them.

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And days have turned into months,
months into years.

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A refugee's stay is supposed
to be temporary.

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Back to Doaa and Bassem in the water.

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It was their second day,
and Bassem was getting very weak.

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And now it was Doaa's turn
to say to Bassem,

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"My love, please hold on to hope,
to our future. We will make it."

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And he said to her,

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"I'm sorry, my love,
that I put you in this situation.

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I have never loved anyone
as much as I love you."

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And he released himself into the water,

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and Doaa watched as the love of her life
drowned before her eyes.

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Later that day,

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a mother came up to Doaa with her
small 18-month-old daughter, Masa.

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This was the little girl I showed you
in the picture earlier,

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with the life vests.

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Her older sister Sandra had just drowned,

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and her mother knew she had to do
everything in her power

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to save her daughter.

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And she said to Doaa,
"Please take this child.

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Let her be part of you.
I will not survive."

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And then she went away and drowned.

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So Doaa, the 19-year-old refugee
who was terrified of the water,

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who couldn't swim,

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found herself in charge
of two little baby kids.

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And they were thirsty and they were hungry
and they were agitated,

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and she tried her best to amuse them,

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to sing to them, to say words
to them from the Quran.

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Around them, the bodies were bloating
and turning black.

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The sun was blazing during the day.

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At night, there was a cold moon and fog.

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It was very frightening.

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On the fourth day in the water,
anothe man came -

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and this is the scene,
this is how Doaa probably looked

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on the ring with her two children.

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A woman came on the fourth day
and approached her

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and asked her to take another child --

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a little boy, just four years old.

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When Doaa took the little boy
and the mother drowned,

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she said to the sobbing child,

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"She just went away
to find you water and food."

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But his heart soon stopped,

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and Doaa had to release
the little boy into the water.

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Later that day,

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she looked up into the sky with hope,

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because she saw two planes
crossing in the sky.

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And she waved her arms,
hoping they would see her,

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but the planes were soon gone.

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But that afternoon,
as the sun was going down,

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she saw a boat, a merchant vessel.

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And she said, "Please, God,
let them rescue me."

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She waved her arms and she felt
like she shouted for about two hours.

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And it had become dark,
but finally the searchlights found her

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and they extended a rope,

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astonished to see a woman
clutching onto two babies.

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They pulled them onto the boat,
they got oxygen and blankets,

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and a Greek helicopter came
to pick them up

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and take them to the island of Crete.

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But Doaa looked down and asked,
"What of Malek?"

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And they told her the little baby
did not survive --

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00:12:53,599 --> 00:12:56,986
she drew her last breath
in the boat's clinic.

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00:12:57,803 --> 00:13:03,575
But Doaa was sure that as they had
been pulled up onto the rescue boat,

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that little baby girl had been smiling.

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Only 11 people survived
that wreck, of the 500.

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00:13:16,304 --> 00:13:20,975
There was never an international
investigation into what happened.

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00:13:20,999 --> 00:13:25,094
There were some media reports
about mass murder at sea,

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00:13:25,118 --> 00:13:26,443
a terrible tragedy,

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00:13:26,467 --> 00:13:28,934
but that was only for one day.

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00:13:29,490 --> 00:13:33,314
And then the news cycle moved on.

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00:13:34,536 --> 00:13:39,078
Meanwhile, in a pediatric
hospital on Crete,

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00:13:39,102 --> 00:13:42,474
little Masa was on the edge of death.

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00:13:43,681 --> 00:13:47,391
She was really dehydrated.
Her kidneys were failing.

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00:13:47,415 --> 00:13:49,439
Her glucose levels were dangerously low.

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00:13:49,463 --> 00:13:53,029
The doctors did everything
in their medical power to save them,

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00:13:53,053 --> 00:13:56,713
and the Greek nurses never left her side,

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00:13:56,737 --> 00:13:58,864
holding her, hugging her,
singing her words.

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00:13:58,888 --> 00:14:04,457
My colleagues also visited
and said pretty words to her in Arabic.

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00:14:04,481 --> 00:14:08,677
Amazingly, little Masa survived.

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00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:14,976
And soon the Greek press started reporting
about the miracle baby,

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00:14:15,001 --> 00:14:20,668
who had survived four days in the water
without food or anything to drink,

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00:14:21,843 --> 00:14:26,577
and offers to adopt her came
from all over the country.

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00:14:28,066 --> 00:14:31,456
And meanwhile, Doaa
was in another hospital on Crete,

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00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:33,092
thin, dehydrated.

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00:14:34,171 --> 00:14:39,545
An Egyptian family stayed with her
all through the time

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00:14:39,570 --> 00:14:43,512
and took her into their home
as soon as she was released.

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00:14:44,748 --> 00:14:49,495
And soon word went around
about Doaa's survival,

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00:14:49,519 --> 00:14:52,697
and a phone number
was published on Facebook.

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00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:56,365
Messages started coming in.

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00:14:57,499 --> 00:15:02,287
"Doaa, do you know
what happened to my brother?

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00:15:02,311 --> 00:15:08,852
My sister? My parents? My friends?
Do you know if they survived?"

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00:15:09,701 --> 00:15:13,475
One of those messages said,

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00:15:13,499 --> 00:15:17,947
"I believe you saved
my little niece, Masa."

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00:15:20,349 --> 00:15:22,841
And it had this photo.

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00:15:24,441 --> 00:15:26,703
This was from Masa's uncle,

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00:15:26,727 --> 00:15:31,449
a Syrian refugee who had made it
to Sweden with his family

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00:15:31,473 --> 00:15:33,680
and also Masa's older sister.

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00:15:34,347 --> 00:15:40,031
Soon, we hope, Masa will be reunited
with him in Sweden,

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00:15:40,055 --> 00:15:45,579
and until then, she's being cared for
in a beautiful orphanage in Athens.

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00:15:46,921 --> 00:15:52,703
And Doaa? Well, word went around
about her survival, too.

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00:15:53,699 --> 00:15:57,412
And the media wrote
about this slight woman,

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00:15:57,436 --> 00:16:01,348
and couldn't imagine how
she could survive all this time

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00:16:01,372 --> 00:16:04,366
under such conditions in that sea,

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00:16:04,390 --> 00:16:07,421
and still save another life.

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00:16:09,459 --> 00:16:14,846
The Academy of Athens, one of Greece's
most prestigious institutions,

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00:16:14,870 --> 00:16:18,226
gave her an award of bravery,

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00:16:18,250 --> 00:16:21,241
and she deserves all that praise,

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00:16:21,265 --> 00:16:23,686
and she deserves a second chance.

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But she wants to still go to Sweden.

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She wants to reunite
with her family there.

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She wants to bring her mother
and her father and her younger siblings

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away from Egypt there as well,

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and I believe she will succeed.

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She wants to become a lawyer
or a politician

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or something that can help
fight injustice.

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She is an extraordinary survivor.

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But I have to ask:

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what if she didn't have to take that risk?

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Why did she have to go through all that?

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00:17:00,226 --> 00:17:05,290
Why wasn't there a legal way
for her to study in Europe?

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00:17:05,314 --> 00:17:09,609
Why couldn't Masa have taken
an airplane to Sweden?

254
00:17:09,634 --> 00:17:12,006
Why couldn't Bassem have found work?

255
00:17:13,125 --> 00:17:18,547
Why is there no massive resettlement
program for Syrian refugees,

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the victims of the worst war of our times?

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The world did this for the Vietnamese
in the 1970s. Why not now?

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Why is there so little investment
in the neighboring countries

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hosting so many refugees?

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And why, the root question,

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is so little being done to stop
the wars, the persecution

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and the poverty that is driving
so many people

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to the shores of Europe?

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Until these issues are resolved,

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people will continue to take to the seas

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and to seek safety and asylum.

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And what happens next?

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Well, that is largely Europe's choice.

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And I understand the public fears.

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People are worried about their security,
their economies, the changes of culture.

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But is that more important
than saving human lives?

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Because there is something
fundamental here

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that I think overrides the rest,

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and it is about our common humanity.

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No person fleeing war or persecution

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should have to die
crossing a sea to reach safety.

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00:18:45,397 --> 00:18:51,729
(Applause)

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One thing is for sure,

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that no refugee would be
on those dangerous boats

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if they could thrive where they are.

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00:19:08,823 --> 00:19:12,101
And no migrant would take
that dangerous journey

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if they had enough food
for themselves and their children.

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00:19:16,035 --> 00:19:18,654
And no one would put their life savings

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00:19:18,678 --> 00:19:21,471
in the hands of those notorious smugglers

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00:19:21,495 --> 00:19:23,922
if there was a legal way to migrate.

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00:19:25,971 --> 00:19:29,566
So on behalf of little Masa

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00:19:29,590 --> 00:19:31,859
and on behalf of Doaa

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00:19:31,883 --> 00:19:33,607
and of Bassem

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00:19:33,631 --> 00:19:38,768
and of those 500 people
who drowned with them,

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00:19:38,792 --> 00:19:41,935
can we make sure that they
did not die in vain?

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00:19:42,808 --> 00:19:46,475
Could we be inspired by what happened,

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00:19:46,499 --> 00:19:52,450
and take a stand for a world
in which every life matters?

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Thank you.

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(Applause)

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00:20:15,548 --> 00:20:18,475
Host: Thank you, Melissa, very much.

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I thought you would like to stay with me.

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It's an unbelievable story.

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I don't know how many of these
you've encountered

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00:20:32,781 --> 00:20:35,279
over the past months.

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But it's a happy story.
It's a happy end.

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00:20:39,552 --> 00:20:44,513
And it's one that concentrates
on what you just said lastly,

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what matters is our own humanity,

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Melissa Fleming: That's right.

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We all hear so many stories
of the growing numbers,

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00:20:56,267 --> 00:20:59,264
400% more refugees coming to Greece,

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00:21:00,190 --> 00:21:03,542
millions of refugees
fleeing for their lives -

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these numbers are hard
for any human being to fathom.

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And so I think what we need to do,


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it's our responsibility
to find out the human story,

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the individual story.

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And one of the things
I always find with refugees

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is they have unbelievable resilience,

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tales that I hear I can't imagine
ever going through myself

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00:21:27,447 --> 00:21:30,444
and living through it,
and yet they do emerge

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00:21:30,615 --> 00:21:33,703
and what they need
is just a bit of humanity,

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and a boost from the world,

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because they're certainly
not coming here voluntarily.

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They would much rather be in their homes.

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Host: Thank you very much, Melissa.
MF: Thank you for having me here.

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(Applause)