I'm Huda.

I'm from Syria. I'm 25 years old. I came to Turkey with my husband and one-year-old daughter five years ago.

I had a wonderful life before the war broke out in my country. I was studying English Literature at university. I got married in my first year. Then the war broke out, when that happened, our lives ruined. I had to leave my family, my loved ones, my school and move out from my country, my homeland.

We first moved to Iran because my husband's school was there. One year later, my husband graduated from medical school. Yet, it became impossible to stay in Iran due to certain external factors of the war.

In order to protect ourselves and our child, we came to a safe and Muslim country, Turkey, as refugees.  When we came to Turkey, we couldn't speak Turkish at all. We didn't have furniture or a house. A Turkmen family we didn't know from Syria opened up their house to us. We stayed there for three months. I learned to speak Turkish during that time. I applied for a scholarship in Turkey.

We went to Ankara with my husband and daughter for an interview. There was a translator at the interview, yet I spoke Turkish. The jury was pleased to see that, but they hesitated when they found out I was married. I did the best I can to convince them and they finally accepted me.

Now I'm at Istanbul University, Faculty of Communication, studying journalism as a fourth-grader. It  is really hard to study with a newly learned language, but in order not to lose my scholarship, I always have to study and get high grades. It was the best opportunity in my life to be able to study at Istanbul University.

I have two daughters, one of them is six and the other one is three years old. I'm raising my daughters in Turkey in a very healthy environment. Turkey embraced us and gave us a future. I haven't seen my family in five years. It really saddens me to stay away from them. My mother passed away this summer in Syria. She never saw my little daughter and we couldn't even go to my mother's funeral.

I hope the war will end one day. After the war ends, I want to return to my country.

Turkey is hope for me.

Thank you Turkey.