I arranged a Skype call with my colleague in Athens, Erasmia Roumana, who had been assigned to handle Doaa and Masa’s cases, to see how UNHCR could help. Erasmia interviewed Doaa after her release from the hospital to assess her needs and to let her know that she had the right to claim asylum in Greece. As Erasmia told me Doaa’s story, I could tell that she was visibly shaken. Erasmia had witnessed and heard all kinds of tragic tales during her work with refugees, but no story had gripped her heart the way Doaa’s did. I traveled to Crete a few weeks later to meet Doaa myself.
My communications colleagues in Athens—Ketty Kehayioylou, Stella Nanou, and Katerina Kitidi—arranged my visit and researched and translated all the coverage in the Greek media for my preparation. These articles, as well as photos and other accounts, would later prove useful for the book, despite some inaccuracies in the news reporting that became clear after cross-checking.
My colleagues Ana White and Sybella Wilkes traveled with me to Crete, and Sybella supported me throughout the entire process of scripting the story for the TED talk. I conducted my first interview with Doaa on April 21, 2015, in the living room of her host family on Crete. Doaa spoke only Arabic, and our interpreter could only translate from Arabic to Greek, so Erasmia translated the three-hour conversation from Greek to English. It soon became clear that the reports in the media had only skimmed the surface of the nightmare and struggles that Doaa had lived through in Syria and Egypt and on the Mediterranean Sea. Doaa was welcoming and warm, but also very fragile and clearly traumatized. At one point, after she relayed the details of how Bassem had drowned, I asked her if she wanted to continue. “Ask me what you want,” she said. “This is my life. I live with it.” Her guard was up very high at that point, but it was clear she saw us as people she could potentially trust to help her. There was one thing she wanted and that was to be resettled in Sweden along with her family members who were still back in Egypt and whom she felt responsible to protect, and she knew we were the only ones who could help her.
Doaa’s host family, who took her in after her rescue and cared for her like one of their own daughters for sixteen months, was helpful in providing us access to Doaa. However, they declined to be interviewed for the book, explaining that they believed that what they did for her was “God’s will,” and therefore they did not deserve recognition for their generosity. That is why I am preserving their anonymity in this book. But I do want to recognize them here. They provided a place of healing, protection, and love for Doaa, and this was a very noble and beautiful deed.
The day after meeting Doaa, we traveled to Heraklion to visit the University Hospital where little Masa had been treated after her rescue, and met with Dr. Diana Fitrolaki, her supervising physician. She confirmed to me that Masa “was close to death” when she was first admitted. “We gave her glucose, liquid, oxygen,” she told me. “And we sang her songs, hugged her, took her into our arms, and walked around. After two days, she started to smile. She always asked to be picked up. She wanted to be held all the time. The staff were always touching and holding her. They love all the children but had never seen a case like this before.” I left the hospital that day convinced that it was not just modern medicine that had saved Masa but the love that Dr. Fitrolaki and the University Hospital staff showered over the little girl from the moment she was admitted.
After having left the hospital, Masa was being cared for at an orphanage, the Mitera foster home in Athens. During my visit there, I spent a couple of hours playing with her and speaking to the manager and staff of Mitera. It was clear to me that the bubbly toddler who had quickly picked up the Greek language was in the best place possible to overcome her trauma and the tragic drowning of her parents and sister.
Later, at UNHCR’s Athens office, I conducted a Skype interview with Mohammad Dasuqi, Masa’s uncle who was living in Sweden. His wife, two children, and Masa’s elder sister, Sidra, darted in and out of the frame as we spoke. Mohammad was awaiting the outcome of a legal procedure that would confirm his genetic relationship and ability to care for Masa so that he could bring her to Sweden to join her older sister and his family and so he could become her legal guardian.
That same afternoon, my colleagues arranged for one of the other survivors, Shoukri Al-Assoulli, to meet us at our Athens office. Shoukri was in a terrible state when we met with him. The Palestinian National Authority had stopped paying his small monthly stipend due to a lack of funds, and a few days before, in a park in central Athens, members of the right-wing extremist group the Golden Dawn had beaten him and a friend badly because they were foreigners. They both landed in the hospital. He was penniless and broken, and crying as he showed us a photo of the pretty pink bedroom his deceased daughter used to sleep in back in Gaza. Shoukri wanted to share his story, and we agreed that Jowan Akkash, a Syrian journalist he had befriended who was translating for us, would ask him my interview questions when the time was right. This interview, along with another session months later, when Shoukri had returned to Gaza, corroborated further details and added description of what transpired during the boat journey and during the time they struggled for survival at sea.
Once I had finally gathered enough information to write the script for my TED talk, I shared the text with the curators of TEDxThessaloniki, Katerina Biliouri and Elena Papadopoulou, who were immediately convinced that their Greek audience would be deeply moved by Doaa’s story while also gaining a wider understanding of the reasons why so many refugees were dying on their shores. In the lead-up to and aftermath of the event, Katerina and Elena made special efforts to promote the talk. Bruno Giussani, TED’s European director and curator of the TEDGlobal conference, also offered to review the script and provided insightful advice and helpful edits that significantly improved the shape of the script. I am also grateful to Mark Turner, who helped to make the words sing. I rehearsed the talk over and over, and my colleagues, especially Sybella Wilkes, Edith Champagne, Christopher Reardon, Alexandre St-Denis, and Médéric Droz-dit-Busset, served as patient and active audience members for rehearsals and provided lots of feedback. Speaker coach T. J. Walker supported me throughout the process, critiquing rehearsal videos and keeping me on a practice regimen. When I delivered the talk on May 23, 2015, the audience listened in rapt silence, then stood to applaud once I finished. Many were in tears. A fellow speaker and prominent Athens businessman, Alexis Pantazis, was so moved by Doaa’s story that he granted her a scholarship in the name of his company.
I decided to send a link to a video of the talk to literary agent Mollie Glick, then of Foundry Media, now at CAA, who had previously reached out to me about writing a book after she had seen my first refugee-themed TED talk. “Is this a book?” I asked her. Her response was clear: “Yes!” With Mollie’s passionate outreach and strong belief in the timeliness of a refugee story like Doaa’s, we set to work on coming up with a proposal, and she recommended Dorothy Hearst, an experienced nonfiction editor and successful novelist, to help me with the proposal process and the writing. Mollie’s assistant, Joy Fowlkes, who had brought my first TED talk to Mollie’s attention, managed all the contacts in different time zones, and Foundry’s Kirsten Neuhaus secured eight foreign publishers on the basis of the book proposal and is working on more.
My book ended up with Flatiron Books, a division of Macmillan. My editor, Colin Dickerman, impressed me with his interest in human stories that move, educate, and influence readers. Since then, Colin has expertly guided me throughout the writing and marketing process, keeping me to deadlines and encouraging me to write the best book that I had in me. As the manuscript entered its final stages, Flatiron editor Jasmine Faustino significantly improved the flow and form of the text with her sharp and fresh eye for style and structure. Copy editor Steve Boldt and publishing lawyer Michael Cantwell both combed through the final draft for inconsistencies and refined the text to a fine finish.
Revealing part of her story for a short TED talk was already a big deal for Doaa, but exposing entire life
story in detail for a book was a frightening prospect. I was deeply convinced that telling her story would help her come to terms with the tragedy and also offer her some much-needed financial support. I was also sure that her story would give readers real insight into the Syrian war, the grueling life that refugees face in neighboring countries, and the factors that drive so many people to risk their lives to cross the Mediterranean to reach the promise of Europe. My colleague Firas Kayal, a fellow Syrian who was deeply moved by Doaa’s ordeal, was instrumental in convincing Doaa and her family that the book was in their best interest and that they could trust me to write it. Doaa’s instinct was to withdraw into her trauma, and Firas helped her to understand how she could help other people by telling her story to the world.
To get the level of detail I needed, it was clear that I needed to work with a collaborator who not only spoke fluent Arabic but who was also sensitive to the plight of the Syrian people. I found that person in Zahra Mackaoui, a video journalist and documentary filmmaker who had worked for UNHCR covering Syrian refugee stories from Lebanon. Zahra has always impressed me with her talent for individual storytelling while painting a wider picture and generating compassion for Syrian refugees suffering and circumstances. She quickly developed a strong relationship with Doaa and her family. Her sensitive and caring approach earned their trust and confidence. Most interviews we conducted together, though some she conducted alone when I was unable to travel—in all, the interviews add up to over seventy hours of conversations. Some sessions were so painful for Doaa that we had to break off and start again the next day. We were the only ones she had spoken to at this level of detail about what had happened, and it seemed to help Doaa to talk about it. Zahra knew how to comfort her when she felt sad and to make her laugh to lighten her mood. Over the seven months we spent working together on the research, Zahra became a dear friend and a mentor to Doaa. The transcripts she worked on, which were translated thanks to Naglaa Abdelmoneim, provided a detailed account of what had happened over Doaa’s life, set vivid scenes, and captured her family’s dialogue. Zahra ensured that the transcripts were complete and coherent, that the time lines were accurate, that any lapses in memory were resolved, and that the emotions of the moment were captured. She also added perceptive commentary and contributed descriptive writing that helped shape the overall narrative and helped fully develop the contours of Doaa’s character.
At about the same time that I started working on the book in October 2015, the TED editorial team, led by Helen Walters and Emily McManus, published my talk on TED.com. The response was phenomenal. By the time I finished writing the book in August 2016, over 1.3 million people had viewed it, and it was subtitled in thirty languages by the talented volunteer TED translators. I am grateful to the TED editorial team for recognizing the power of Doaa’s tale and for providing the TED platform to raise awareness about the global refugee crisis.
I could not have written this book without Dorothy Hearst’s masterful writing support. She taught me the ins and outs of book publishing and the art of writing in long form. She also gave me confidence when my writing felt blocked or clunky, and she steered me with tips on how to improve. She provided chapter-by-chapter polishing, and her edits and additions helped bring the scenes into more vivid focus with color and emotion.
I would also like to recognize Jane Corbin, whose seminal BBC documentary on the Daara uprising helped me set the scenes that sparked the Syrian war. Other works that served as important references were Burning Country by Robin Yassin-Kassab and Leila al-Shami, as well as Patrick Kingsley’s The New Odyssey. I would also like to recognize the citizen journalists whose brave video reporting paid witness to the events that mainstream media, historians, and writers like myself refer to for helping to paint a picture of the war. Many thanks to Maher Samaan for checking the facts around the Syria chapters.
Bruno Giussani’s edits and insightful suggestions improved the writing and the context throughout the process. I am also grateful to Ariane Rummery, Sybella Wilkes, Edith Champagne, Christopher Reardon, Elizabeth Tan, Yvonne Richard, and Elena Dorfman for reading the manuscript and offering so many words of encouragement. Additional thanks to Elena for the stunning portraits she took of Doaa.
I am deeply grateful to Pat Mitchell, curator of TEDWomen, who linked me to the Rockefeller Center Fellowship program in Bellagio, Italy. I was awarded a one-month policy fellowship at their stunning residence on Lake Como in April 2016 that gave me the ideal environment, space, and time that I needed to write important chapters for the book. Special appreciation goes to Managing Director Pilar Palacia for her heartfelt interest in the project and for welcoming Doaa and Zahra for daily interview sessions over three days in the tranquility of the center’s facilities and grounds.
In addition to Doaa’s testimony, there were several interviews that were critical to the book. I am deeply grateful to Hanaa, Shokri, Saja, and Nawara for fielding all my questions and providing so much insight into their family life, Doaa as a person, and Doaa and Bassem’s love story. My interviews with Doaa’s sisters, Ayat in Lebanon and Asma in Jordan, gave me insight into Doaa’s personality and her struggle to accept Bassem’s death.
Thanks also goes to the doctor in Egypt from MSF who, while preferring to remain unnamed, gave such a moving account of not only Doaa’s fragile medical condition and Bassem’s poor state of health but also of their optimism and tremendous love for one another.
Special thanks also to Svante Somizlaff of Offen Group, a tanker and container ship management company in Hamburg, Germany. Doaa’s rescue ship, the CPO Japan, is one of the tankers in its fleet. Svante was immensely helpful in tracking down Doaa’s rescuers. He activated the personnel department to find the three men manning the ship that day, Captain Vladislav Akimov, Chief Mate Dmytro Zbitnyev, and Engineer Vladislavs Daleckis, transmitting their detailed written responses to my questions. These interviews corroborated the timing of the rescue and added details to the story that Doaa had been in no condition to recall, such as the decision by the captain to search for survivors even though the other merchant vessel at the scene had given up amid the poor visibility and rough seas, the point when they heard her cries, how they worked to finally reach her, the medical measures they took to care for the people they rescued, and how Malak died.
I am also grateful to the pilots John Fragkiadoukis and Antonios Kollias of the Greek Hellenic Air Force, who provided important details of their helicopter rescue of Doaa, Masa, and the other survivors in addition to providing the dramatic video they had shot as they were pulling them up to the helicopter from the ship. For them, this rescue was almost routine, but they still recall this particular incident because it involved a young woman and a baby who were so visibly on the edge of death and whose survival in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea for such a long period of time seemed miraculous.
I am sincerely grateful to Aurvasi Patel and Diane Goodman for their efforts in working with the Greek, Egyptian, and Swedish governments to get Doaa and her family resettled. Thanks to them, Doaa has renewed hope.
Big thanks to Humans of New York photographer Brandon Stanton and authors Khaled Hosseini and Neil Gaiman for their endorsements and to my colleague Coco Campbell for her strong support of the project.
Although I wrote the book in my personal capacity, the then UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, endorsed the project, believing it would serve as an important communications tool to drive empathy for refugees. I wish to underscore that most of the proceeds of this book will be donated to support refugees.
The writing process took place over a period when the refugee crisis in Europe was making daily headline news and my UNHCR workload was at an all-time high. I am so thankful to my husband, Peter, and my children, Alessi and Danny, for not just accepting that my evenings and weekends were consumed by writing the book but for cheering me along.
About the Author
MELISSA FLEMING is chief spokesperson for the United Nati
ons High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She travels to war zones and refugee camps to give voice to the millions of people forcibly displaced from their homes. She is frequently quoted in international media, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and NPR. She first told Doaa’s story on the TED stage and her talks are featured on TED.com. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
ONE: A Childhood in Syria
TWO: The War Begins
THREE: The Siege of Daraa
FOUR: Life as a Refugee
FIVE: Love in Exile
SIX: The Engagement
SEVEN: Deal with the Devil
EIGHT: Ship of Horrors
NINE: All That Is Left Is the Sea
TEN: Rescue at the Dying Hour
Epilogue
A Note from Doaa
Author’s Note
About the Author
Copyright
The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.
A HOPE MORE POWERFUL THAN THE SEA. Copyright © 2017 by Melissa Fleming. All rights reserved. For information, address Flatiron Books, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
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