Syrian refugees in Ireland spoke of the loneliness they endure here in an emotional short documentary for World Refugee Day.
The video was released by the Red Cross and delves into the lives of three Syrian Refugees living in Ireland.
Abdullah, Alaa and Haima open up about what life was like before the war and their journey to Ireland from Syria.
Abdullah, an avid music lover from the Syria and Iraq border, said: “I was studying music. The music made me say the words inside my heart that I can’t express.
“When the war started I stopped playing music… because it’s very sad to me to remember everything that happened in Syria.
“The war words and the bombs, the bodies in the streets. This is what changed me. Changed everything in music.”
Abdullah remembers the early days when war broke out in Daraa and bodies began to line the streets.
He said: “There was a bomb… and my two cousins, with some people, went to help. Then the second bomb came.
“This is the first time I seen blood everywhere. And the heads and bodies everywhere.
“I got shot in my hand and I have a pellet in my hand still, here.”
Travelling across the Mediterannean was a moment of fear for all three refugees with Abdullah decribing it as “The journey of death”.
Alaa described the screams and panic he experienced while making his journey to Greece.
He said: “Crossing the sea was very scary. Dark, night.
“In the middle of the sea we stopped because our engine is broken. The women started screaming because water started flooding in. We thought we were drowning."
Haima said: “As a woman alone, it wasn’t easy at all. It wasn’t safe at all.”
All three found happiness in Ireland, however, without family, friends or guidance this quickly turned to loneliness.
Haima said: “We went to Ballaghaderreen refugee centre. At first it’s a very nice place but not to spend a year and four months there.
“It affected me socially and psychologically very badly.”
Alaa said: “Loneliness is a monster, seriously. Nobody visits me here.
“I haven’t seen my mom in five years and my sister in eight years. It’s a horrible feeling.”
Abdul said: “We thought that there is nobody that cares about us. No one looking to us. No one even knowing that we are here (in Ballaghaderreen).
“There’s just one way, with the Red Cross, that this is our chance to get outside of here. Outside of Ballaghaderreen.
“If my family were here… I would be happier and feeling better. I can’t explain what I would be feeling in the future if my family were here.”
The Red Cross has acted as a helping hand to the refugees settling here in Ireland and have acted as a “different family” to some.
Abdullah said: “I really don’t have family here but I have a different family. If I need anything I just call the Red Cross.
“I know they help me with a lot of things. With the Red Cross I won’t be alone.”
