I love my city of Damascus but we had to flee. Damascus was in ruins the day we left. My husband’s work was bombed, our neighbors were killed in front of our children and the bodies left to rot in the streets.

The police had no power to control the gang violence.

Women were being raped, and our home was robbed of everything. My mother, who is with us, had a heart attack but there was no medical treatment because doctors had fled Syria. People go to the hospital not for treatment but to die.

We are refugees but never expected to be here. This is an overwhelming disaster. We have fled to protect our children from experiencing more trauma, but life in the camp isn’t much. We hope our children may have a better life than us.  We wonder if someone will help us.