‘I feel like I’m home’

As an 18 year old Syrian, Rola El Mgharbel could not have foreseen a future that would see her settled safely and working here in the UK. The 24 year old arrived in the autumn of 2016, having fled the devastated city of Damascus, forced to give up on her studies and leave without any possessions amid a civil war that was ravaging her country.

According to recent statistics from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Rola is just one of around 5.7 million Syrians who have fled their homeland, whilst more than 6.1 million residents remain displaced internally.When Rola eventually arrived here in the UK, speaking only a little English, she had the tenacity and determination to create a new life for herself – far away from her violent and upsetting beginnings.