All over the news, there are reports of bombings and violence in the Middle East and at times, students feel disconnected and unable to assist refugees. For Alumni Ms. Suzie Abdou, she is the opposite and actively volunteers to help refugees.
As a student at TCHS, Ms. Abdou was involved in JSA, Peer Listeners and the swim team. Now, Ms. Abdou works as a program manager in a women’s political participation and parliamentary for a non-governmental organization called the National Democratic Institute. Her life took a turn when her friend recommended her to the Service Group International, in which she spent two months in Greece, Serbia and France to help refugees.
“I felt like I needed to help our people. There are refugees from all over the world making the journey to Europe,” Ms. Abdou said. “The majority are from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, but you have people from everywhere. They cross because Germany gives them that hope.”
In Calais, France, Ms. Abdou met an unaccompanied 12 year-old boy. He explained how he dreamt of attending medical school, but he knew his father could not afford it. With Ms. Abdou’s help, the French government offered him sanctuary in a boys group home with temporary papers, until the age of 18 for French citizenship and free education. The next morning, however, she discovered he had called his father to leave France.
“They just want an education,” Ms. Abdou said. “No one wants a fancy car or a rich home. These boys just want a chance to go to school. It crushed me because there was a permanent solution that at last they found, to give real help to these boys—They have no protection, no family and might be preyed upon from people who will steal from them.”
As a result of many unaccompanied minors in Calias, the volunteers have established a youth center where they can learn, relax and play. Currently, they are accepting donations for equipment to run fitness workshops. Students can help by donating beanies, hats or baby clothes. There is a program to become a penpal for an unaccompanied minor, but spreading the awareness is most efficient.
“These are human beings, they have nothing and want nothing more than what we have—to have peace and food on the table,” Ms. Abdou said. “They are not a crisis, they are not a problem, they’re human beings.”