Antislavery Usable Past

Maisa

2019 (Narrative Date)

Since the war broke out in Syria, child marriage rates have risen sharply. Before the war, child marriage did happen. But conflict has exacerbated many of the factors that push families into marrying their daughters off, such as insecurity, poverty and lack of education. In just three years from 2011 to 2014, child marriage rates increased almost threefold. 

Maisa is living in a refugee community in Lebanon. She receives support from Girls Not Brides member SB Overseas. SB Overseas runs education programmes to help young refugees get back into the school system. They also run educational support programmes for older children, awareness sessions and psychological support sessions for children and young people. They also teach women vocational skills so they can support themselves and their families, and distribute clothing and aid. 

My name is Maisa. I am from Syria, from the city of Idlib.

Before the civil war, we were living a happy life in Idlib.

When I was a child in Syria, I was going to school. Thankfully, I never missed a single year. From 1st grade to 6th grade.

When I would get home from school, I would go play with my friends. And when I would go back home, my mom would have dinner on the table. As soon as I would finish dinner, I would go back to play with my friends. I was living a really beautiful and happy life in Syria.

When the civil war broke out, we sought refuge in Lebanon. That was in 2013, we have been here for 6 years.

When I turned 15 years old, I got married.

After 6 months, because of serious marital problems, this led to my decision to get a divorce.

The problems I dealt with were not easy.

After I got divorced, my life became even more difficult than when I was married.

I want to give a message to every girls out there: do not get married until you are at least 20.

For every girl that is still young, live your childhood and do not grow up faster than you need to.

I wish I never got married.

My dream is to continue my education and make a difference in this world, and in my life.

Narrative provided by Girls Not Brides

Country

Theme

Forced marriage

Type

Narrative

Tags

VOICES: Narratives by Survivors of Modern Slavery

This is the world's largest archive of modern slavery survivor narratives. Across more than a million words spoken or written by survivors of modern slavery, we can see why slavery persists in particular hotspots, analyse patterns in trafficking routes, identify vulnerabilities, understand more about the challenges survivors face in liberation, and discover new antislavery solutions. These narratives offer the chance to systematically design new antislavery strategies based on the experiences, ideas and solutions of enslaved people themselves.

The database is searchable by country, name, theme, and narrative date. Narratives can be viewed in list or map form. A short introduction provides context to each narrative. Narrative provenance appears after the main narrative text.

For ideas on how to use this database, please see our accompanying guide.

Project Lead: Zoe Trodd. Team Members: Andrea Nicholson, Lauren Eglen, Rosemary Pearce, Olivia Wright.

Project Funders: AHRC Antislavery Usable Past grant (2014-19), ESRC/AHRC PaCCS Modern Slavery: Meaning and Measurement grant (2016-19), and AHRC-GCRF Antislavery Knowledge Network grant (2017-2021).

For any queries about the collection please contact: [email protected]. If you wish to cite a particular narrative, please acknowledge the survivor’s name, the provenance of the narrative and cite: Voices Database, the Rights Lab, University of Nottingham.

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