34-37 Degrees South - 2023

Many Syrians left their homes because of shelling and sniping to live
in worn-out tents for fear of the bombing. Water entered from all
sides, the cold was unbearable, the children’s clothes were wet, and the
mattress was full of water and mud. The children’s dreams became a
heater and a plastic sheet to patch their tent—this in a country rich in
oil resources.
In the end, the Syrians paid the highest price. They sacrificed their
children as martyrs, homes, money, to find freedom away from injustice
and exclusion to live in dignity.
Note. Ryan was Olivia Espie’s five-year old son who drowned after falling
into a swimming pool while on holidays. The pain of loss came rushing back
after seeing images of two young Kurdish brothers washed up on a beach in
Turkey in 2015. They had drowned along with their mother as they made
a desperate bid to escape the violence in Syria. Olivia started a fundraising
drive to help refugees fleeing war-torn countries.
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