My Story

My name is Alya, and I'm an only child. My family is Yazidi, and we're from Syria. Before I was even born, we had to flee the Islamic State back in 2014. We're still refugees today, living in northern Iraq with just my mom, my dad, and me.

I'm in first grade, and I love school and learning new things. English is my favorite subject, though Arabic is a lot harder for me. Blue is my favorite color, turtles are my favorite animal, and I love playing basketball. When I grow up, I want to be a dentist, so I can help other people.

Iraq is a special place. We love our families, our traditions, good food, and celebrating together. But there are hard things too, an unstable government, not enough jobs, and sometimes not enough food or clean water. Most people here are Muslim, and it isn't always safe to be a minority like my family.

Being a refugee is hard, but I like hearing about how God loves me and will always take care of me.