MARTA MALASPINA

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Saba'a is a Syrian woman who fled with her family from her city, Damascus after her home was bombed. After having taken refuge in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan - the second refugee camp in the world, 10 km from the Syrian border - she decided to resume the activity she carried out in her "normal" life, that is, beautician and hairdresser. And that's how, at just 23, she surprised everyone when she opens a beauty salon on the main street of the camp, called "the Champs-Élysées". With the support of her husband and her family, she manages to carry on her business and attract many customers. An important part of Saba'a's work is to prepare young women in the camp for their wedding, "because even if away from home, a woman would always deserve to feel beautiful in her big day". Young brides (most of them are minors) who hold on to their dream despite everything. In the fifth year of conflict in Syria, there is, in fact, an increase in the number of young adolescents who get married because marriage is seen as a bulwark capable of securing them from the risk of immediate violence in the field.

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This story has been published by D- La Repubblica, December 22, 2015. 

See the story here