Ola’s Story: For Sama is our eyes, our memory & the history of our revolution

So many of our colleagues and friends, who were such a big part of our lives, were also a big part of For Sama. We want to share some familiar faces from the film with you: where they are now, their memories of Aleppo and what they hope For Sama can share to the world about Syria. 

Here’s Ola’s story...

I am Ola and I am 26 years old. I live in Gaziantep, Turkey and I’ve recently enrolled in university to resume my studies, 

Back in Aleppo I was a volunteer in “Al-Ahmar” team. We used to always be together like a family. When we were under siege and one of us would find some kind of fruit or vegetable, we’d share it between us. For me, having this family was a big blessing. 

Despite the difficult life, there were a lot of beautiful moments. The one that I remember the most is when the siege ended - we decorated our cars with balloons and wandered in east-Aleppo’s alleys, it was such a moment of incredible joy. 

I remember when we left Aleppo we were kept at the crossing point for more than 24 hours in the cold. It was snowing, so we all stayed in a house that was mostly ruins, but in the moment of fear and heartbreak, that home and being with my friends made me feel safe and warm. The thing that I’ve ever been most afraid of, is losing one of them. 

The film for me is our eyes, our memory, and the history of our revolution from the first day. The film is the only thing that keeps me going after all this loss and frustration I went through, which sometimes weakens me and causes me sorrow for what was lost.

I’m really touched when I hear that people who have never heard of our revolution are showing solidarity in this overwhelming way. 

I wish for all of the people who watched the film to try with any means possible to prevent forced displacement from happening again anywhere in Syria, and I also want them to know that there are a lot of people now living under bombardment and shelling just like we were, and there’s a good chance they’ll be displaced like we were.