“Nothing lasts forever. Darkness is followed by dawn,” she says.
“I knew that I would never come back to a Syria that had Assad as president, and that we would never have the chance to be a better nation with that man in charge. We knew that we would never find peace unless he’s gone. And now with that chapter over, I think the real challenge begins.”
Like René, she wants a country that is tolerant of diversity and cares for those with disabilities.
“I don’t want to go back to a place where there is no lift and only stairs up to an apartment on the fourth floor.”
As a Kurd, she is well versed in her people’s experience of suffering in the region.
Now, as the Kurdish forces are forced to pull out of cities in the oil producing north, Nujeen sees the danger posed by a new regime that is backed by Turkey.
“We know these people that came into power now. We know the countries and the powers that are backing them, and they’re not exactly fans of Kurds. They do not exactly love us. That’s our biggest worry right now.”
There is also the fear of a potential regrouping of IS if Syria’s new leaders cannot achieve stability in the country.
There are constant calls to family still living in the Kurdish areas.
“They are anxious and worried about the future as we all are,” says Nujeen.
“We never stop calling, and we are always worried if they don’t pick up after the first ring. There’s a lot of uncertainty about what’s going to happen next”.
The uncertainty is amplified by the change in asylum policy in Europe.
Still, this is a young woman whose experience of life – the experience of serious disability since birth, witnessing the terrors of war, travelling across the Middle East and Europe to safety – has created a capacity for hope.
In the near decade that I have known her, it is undimmed. The fall of Assad has only deepened her faith in Syria and its people.
“There are many people who are waiting to see Syria fall into some kind of an abyss,” she says.
“We are not people who hate or envy or want to want to eliminate each other. We are people who were raised to be afraid of each other. But our default setting is that we love and accept who we are.”
“We can and will be a be a better nation – a nation of love, acceptance and peace, not one of chaos, fear and destruction.”
There are many hearts in Syria and beyond who will be hoping she is right.
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