Swimming for Her Life

    Yusra grew up in Damascus. That’s a city in Syria—a country in Western Asia. From a young age, she and her older sister, Sarah, were strong swimmers. Both dreamed of competing in the Olympics one day. 

    Then, when Yusra was 13, civil war broke out in her country. The conflict continues to this day. Hundreds of thousands have died. Entire neighborhoods have been bombed.

    Yusra and Sarah’s home was destroyed in 2012. So was the pool where they trained. Their neighborhood became a war zone. And the sisters’ dreams for the future died.   

    Finally—in the summer of 2015—Yusra and Sarah decided to flee.    

    Yusra grew up in Damascus. That’s the capital city of Syria—a country in Western Asia. She was a strong swimmer. Her older sister, Sarah, was too. They hoped to swim in the Olympics one day.

    When Yusra was 13, things changed. Civil war broke out in Syria. It hasn’t stopped yet. Hundreds of thousands have died. Whole neighborhoods have been bombed.

    Yusra and Sarah’s home was destroyed in 2012. So was the pool where they trained. Their neighborhood became a war zone. And their dreams for the future died.  

    In 2015, the sisters decided to flee.

    Yusra grew up in Damascus. That’s the capital city of Syria—a country in Western Asia. She and her older sister, Sarah, were strong swimmers and dreamed of competing in the Olympics someday.

    Then, when Yusra was 13, civil war broke out in her country. The conflict continues to this day—hundreds of thousands have died, and entire neighborhoods have been bombed.

    Yusra and Sarah’s home was destroyed in 2012 and so was the pool where they trained. Their neighborhood became a war zone, and the sisters’ dreams for the future died.  

    Finally—in the summer of 2015—Yusra and Sarah decided to flee.

    The decision to leave one’s home is never an easy one. But for many Syrians, there wasn’t really a choice. To date, about 13 million Syrians have escaped the violence. Some have moved to other parts of Syria. Many have gone to nearby countries or Europe.

    The life of refugees can be difficult. They may not know how to speak the language in their new country. It can also be hard to find work and housing. 

    Yusra and Sarah planned to go to Germany. The sisters knew the journey would be dangerous. But that did not stop them.

    “Maybe I’m going to die on the way,” Yusra said. “But I’m almost dead in my country. I can’t do anything.”

    Deciding to leave home is hard. But for many Syrians, there was no choice. Some areas were just too dangerous. To date, about 13 million Syrians have left. Some have moved to other parts of Syria. Some have gone to nearby countries. Some have gone to Europe.

    Life can be hard for refugees. They may not know the language in their new country. And it can be hard to find work and housing.

    Yusra and Sarah planned to go to Germany. They knew the trip would be dangerous. But that didn’t stop them.

“Maybe I’m going to die on the way,” Yusra said. “But I’m almost dead in my country. I can’t do anything.”    

    The decision to leave one’s home is never an easy one—but for many Syrians, there wasn’t really a choice. To date, about 13 million Syrians have relocated to escape the violence—some to other parts of Syria, and others to nearby countries or Europe.

    The lives of refugees can be extremely difficult. They may not know how to speak the language in their new country, and finding work and housing can be a challenge.

    Yusra and Sarah planned to go to Germany. The sisters knew the journey would be dangerous, but that didn’t stop them.

    “Maybe I’m going to die on the way,” Yusra said, “but I’m almost dead in my country. I can’t do anything.”

    Yusra and Sarah left Syria. They went to Turkey (see map above). There, they joined other refugees. The group hired armed smugglers to help them get to Greece.

    The smugglers arranged for the refugees to cross the Aegean Sea. The boat was flimsy. It was made to carry six people. The sisters crammed on with 18 others.

    About 20 minutes into the trip, the motor stopped. Water started to fill the boat. It was getting dark. The sea was cold and rough. And most of the people on board couldn’t swim.

    So Yusra and Sarah got into the water. They pushed the boat.

    They swam for 3.5 hours. Their muscles ached. Salt water stung their eyes. Waves hit them hard.

    But they kept going. They made it to shore.

    The sisters had saved 18 people.

    Yusra and Sarah left Syria and traveled to Turkey (see map, p. 11), where they joined about 30 other refugees. The group hired armed smugglers to help them get to Greece.

    The smugglers arranged for the refugees to cross the Aegean Sea. The boat was flimsy and built to carry 6 people, but the sisters crammed on with 18 others.

    About 20 minutes into the trip, the motor stopped. Then water started filling the boat. It was getting dark, and the sea was cold and rough. Worst of all, most of the people on board didn’t know how to swim.

    So Yusra and Sarah jumped into the water and pushed the boat through the choppy sea.

    They swam for 3.5 hours, their muscles aching. Salt water stung their eyes, and waves battered their bodies.

    But the sisters kept swimming until they reached the shore.

    Yusra and Sarah had saved 18 people.

    Yusra and Sarah were in Greece. But they still had a long way to go. They traveled for days. They walked. They rode buses. They slept in fields and churches. It was hard. They had money. But some businesses wouldn’t sell them food. Many people were tired of helping refugees.

    The sisters traveled 1,000 miles. It took 25 days. But they made it to Germany.

    They were sent to a refugee camp in Berlin. There, they could go to school again.

    And they could live without fear of guns and bombs.

    From Greece, Yusra and Sarah still had a long journey ahead. For days, they traveled on foot and by bus, sleeping in fields and churches at night. Although the sisters had money, some businesses refused to sell them food. Many people had grown tired of helping refugees.

    Finally—after 1,000 miles and 25 days—the sisters arrived in Germany.

    Yusra and Sarah were sent to a refugee camp in Berlin. They got special permission from the government to be there. The sisters could finally go to school again.

    Even more important, they could live their lives without being in constant danger from guns and bombs.

    In Germany, Yusra had the chance to try out for a swim coach. Right away, he saw how talented she was. (Sarah had injured her shoulder in the Aegean Sea and couldn’t swim.)

    Then the coach heard something amazing. The group that runs the Olympics was putting together the first-ever team of refugees. It would compete at the 2016 Games in Brazil. 

    This was a big deal. At the time, there were more than 60 million refugees in the world. That’s roughly the number of people who live in Texas and California combined. But because refugees don’t belong to any one country, they’ve never been able to compete in the Games.

    Making the team would be tough, though. There were only 10 spots. Yusra got one of them.

    Yusra met a swim coach. He saw how good she was. (Sarah had injured her shoulder in the Aegean Sea and couldn’t swim.)

    The coach got news. The group that runs the Olympics was creating a new team. It would be made up of refugees. It was the first of its kind.

    This was big. At the time, there were more than 60 million refugees in the world. That’s roughly the number of people who live in Texas and California combined. But refugees had never competed in the Games. That’s because they don’t belong to any one country.

    There were 10 spots on the team. Yusra got one.

    Yusra had an opportunity to try out for a swim coach in Germany, and he could see immediately how talented she was. (Sarah had injured her shoulder in the Aegean Sea and couldn’t swim.)

    Then the coach learned that the organization that runs the Olympics was putting together the first-ever team of refugees. It would compete at the 2016 Games in Brazil.

    This was incredible news. At the time, there were more than 60 million refugees in the world—roughly the same as the populations of Texas and California combined. But because refugees don’t belong to any one country, they had never been able to compete in the Games.

    With only 10 spots on the team, making it would be tough—but Yusra succeeded!

    In the end, Yusra’s time wasn’t fast enough to make it to the semifinals. But for her, being at the Olympics was a victory. It helped her change the way people think about refugees like her. 

    Yusra, now 23, wants everyone to know that refugees don’t leave their homes because they want to. They leave because they have to.

    It’s the only way to keep themselves—and their dreams—alive. 

    Yusra didn’t make it to the semifinals. But she was glad just to be at the Olympics. It helped her change the way people see refugees.

    Yusra is now 23. She wants people to know that refugees don’t leave their homes because they want to. They leave because they have to.

    They leave to keep themselves, and their dreams, alive. 

    In the end, Yusra’s time wasn’t fast enough to make it to the semifinals. Still, simply being at the Olympics felt like a victory. It helped her change the way people think about refugees like her.

    Yusra, now 23, wants everyone to know that refugees leave their homes not because they want to but because they have to.

    It’s the only way to keep themselves—and their dreams—alive.