Squash a perfect match for Syria girl refugees in Jordan
Syrian refugee Raghda Hasriyeh, 11, whacks a ball against the squash court wall as her parents watch in the Jordanian capital of Amman.
Raghda and a group of young girls displaced by the war in their homeland have been playing the sport for almost a year thanks to a US charity. Now she dreams of taking on all comers.
“I love this sport. I train almost every day,” Raghda says. “I hope that I can travel around the whole world and take part in Arab championships and international ones.”
The UN estimates that more than 330,000 children have fled across the border into Jordan since the Syrian conflict broke out in 2011.
Five years ago Raghda and her family escaped the bombs and bullets in their hometown of Homs before making their way to safety in the kingdom.
“God alone knows what would have happened to my five children and I if I had not decided to flee my country,” says her father, Nizar Hasriyeh.
Life for the family has been difficult and they had to move out of a crowded camp to the outskirts of Amman. But squash has proved a blessing for the children.
“I don’t understand anything about this sport but I am so happy to see my three daughters playing squash,” Mr Hasriyeh says. “I hope to see them become world champions one day.”
While the game has never been mainstream in Jordan it is hugely popular in some parts of the Middle East, most prominently Egypt, and major tournaments are hosted in some Gulf countries.
Reclaim Childhood, the charity behind the programme, believes the sport is invaluable in teaching refugee girls to deal with the hardships they face.
“Today the team is made up of four girls and we are looking to expand it to 15,” founder Clayton Keir says.
“We train five times a week and training includes English lessons aimed at helping them to compete in tournaments in Jordan and abroad.”
Coach Reem Niaz, a refugee from Damascus, says the girls on the team were chosen from dozens of aspirant players. The aim is to help them “release the potential inside themselves and let off steam doing something positive”, Ms Niaz says.
“Nothing is impossible. Just look at where we have all come from and where we are now.”
The girls hope one day to represent Syria in squash.
“I want to take part in championships across the globe and help to raise my country’s spirits,” says Eman Al Hassan, 12.
Eman’s mother, Mona Mohamed, can still remember vividly the day she fled Homs in 2012 with her two children in her arms.
“There was nothing left there, even their school was bombed,” Ms Mohamed says. “That is why I decided to leave and to start a new life.”
Despite the difficulties the family has faced making a new home in a foreign country, squash is at least providing some light for her daughter.
“She is doing something that we never had the chance to accomplish in our lives,” Ms Mohamed says.