Ruba, 4 years old

We come from the city of Idlib. We moved to Lebanon about 10 months ago, in the summer of 2014.

This is my daughter Ruba. When we left our house she would not leave without taking her favourite red jacket, even though it was summer and it was very hot when we left. She would not go without it because this jacket was a present from her father. He had bought it for her, here, in Lebanon. He got one for her and another for her brother. Her brother did not care about taking it but she cried until she was able to bring it with her.

When we were on our way to leave Syria, I first took my 6 children to Damascus. Afterwards we moved through Masnaa to Lebanon where my husband was waiting for us. He has been working here since before the events, and when the shelling intensified in Idlib, we decided to come to the Bekaa valley for safety. We have been here legally until now but our residency ends in 2 months. The General Security came here with the army and took all the men that did not have their papers in order. They kept them for 2 to 3 days and then let them go. However they asked them to regulate their status. It is not easy. I do not know what will happen to us…

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