My name is Siba Alhaji. I’m seventeen years old, and I’m from Hama, Syria. I’ve been studying in a Turkish school for three years. We’ve been in Reyhanli for eight years, and I know how to speak Turkish, not very well, but I can read and write.

The journey from Hama to Reyhanli was a bit tough. We came in 2012 and went through a lot of different landscapes, including mountains. It was hard, but, in the end, we were able to enter. 

My uncle’s family came to Reyhanli before us, so we stayed with them for a bit until my dad found a house. We rented the house and established our life. Little by little, my mom went back to work. She’s a journalist, and my dad is in trade. He used to run a school in Syria as his speciality was in teaching, but we left the school behind. 

The hardest part about leaving Syria was leaving our home. We had just built a new house, but we had to abandon it to come here. We left because there was a bombing in our area. It was really hard, and we didn’t all come together. My sister stayed in Syria, despite the bombings. 

Even now, there are a lot of students that have forgotten what Syria means to them, but, for me? I would return if I could, to my house, to our people, and to our language. There are a lot of people here in Turkey who have forgotten Arabic.

I registered at Karam House because of my school. They brought us, both Syrian and Turkish students, to get to know more about Karam House, and I registered at the end of last year during summer break. Genius Camp was really enjoyable, and it was something new. You meet new people, experience new things, and learn new programs like Rhino and Fusion. 

When I was little, my dream was to be a cinematic director, and Karam House is definitely helping me with this goal. I am gaining new experiences and programs, and even my English is improving a bit because the programs are all in English. In the end, it’s an additional experience, and gaining new experiences is a beautiful thing. 

My favorite project at Karam House was “Document Your Life.” In the beginning of the studio, the idea was to share information about ourselves. We first talked and then decided we wanted to make a video about a specific period of our lives. This studio taught me about film and the rules of video. I also learned how to use Adobe Premier to create a video and use movement to share an idea. Our video was mostly silent. We didn’t include a lot of speech, so we had to think about how to convey a point without words. The mentors helped us a lot with this. 

The best part about Karam House is the people. Because I’ve been in a Turkish school for three years, I love that there are Syrians here. I know that’s not a long time, but it was for me. Here, we Syrians understand each other, and the people here all treat one another with respect. We are like brothers and sisters. The team is very kind, and they let you discuss and talk. It’s a beautiful thing. 

At the end of the day, Karam House is a place for creating, friendship, and beautiful experiences.