Khouloud, a Syrian Love Story.

Khouloud is a member of Oshana’s Knitting Club. Oshana is our longest-running project, which provides craft therapy, community, and financial independence for Syrian and Palestinian refugee women, through the creation and sale of handcrafts.

Khouloud always had to fight against the odds to realise her own dreams and protect her loved ones. She and her husband were childhood sweethearts, but her parents did not approve of the match.

Here she shares her story.

“They pressured us and wanted to separate us… They forced me out of school. Then the war started, and my love had to leave before they took him to serve in the military. He refused to leave before we were engaged. He insisted. After a long battle with our families, they finally let us get engaged.

After we got married and started a life together a more difficult battle began. He left to Lebanon and I followed him after a short time. He started working 18 hours a day. I was alone and out of fear I used to block the main door with a sofa. I got pregnant, nine months of exhaustion, but my son arrived and made my life better.

I started to open my main door, I was less scared, but Tarik my husband started to fall ill. The doctor said he had a slipped disc and that he needed to stay at home, but he kept working. I gave birth to a daughter, now I had another friend, but as usual happiness didn’t last. My husband, my main support, became very ill, he couldn't move anymore . The love of my life had fallen down. Covid hit and life became very expensive. I thought it was my turn to support my family so I started to work, work hard, so I could make enough money to feed my family. 

Tarik had an operation but he still can’t go back to work, he can only sit or stand for a short period of time.  He helps me around the house, gets the food ready, teaches the children. We laugh and sing together, he sings in a comic way to make me laugh. He tries to create a happy atmosphere. We are both broken but we are both a walking stick for each other.

I will stay strong for myself and my children. I am not tired because of the responsibilities, I am tired because of the constant fear.  But, in the same way that we held each other's hands at the beginning, we will hold our children's hands until the end.”

You can find Khouloud’s beautiful crafted creations on the Oshana website.