DAMASCUS – The Taliban victory in Afghanistan has given hope to the Syrian people as bombs continue to rain down randomly near camps and cities. However, despite the violence, there have been advancements in education and hospitals are being set up, according to a teacher living in Syria.
Speaking to Salaamedia, South African teacher, Maseeha Saloojee, said although violence in the Middle-Eastern country did subside for a while, it felt as if refugee camps were being targeted when it returned.
“At the start of this year it wasn’t too bad – they calmed down a bit in terms of the bombing, but when they did start bombing again it seemed like it was really random compared to how they would usually bomb areas. They would usually, in the past, be careful of targeting camps, whereas this year there were quite a few camps that were targeted,” she said.
Saloojee explained that, when schools opened up this year, they were able to settle down on one madhab (Islamic school of thought) to follow. This, she said, has made things much easier.
“Earlier this year, they chose to move completely over to the Shafi’ie madhab and focus quickly on that…. Alhamdulillah [praise to God] this has been a good thing [because] it’s made it possible for us in the schools to refocus and know how we can teach the kids.”
The victory of the Taliban has given hope to the Syrians that one day they may also see such in Syria, said Salooje.
“I remember the day when they [Taliban] gained the victory. There was a lot of takbeer coming from the musjids over here. There was Imaams speaking about the Taliban’s victory and people saw it as they gained victory and maybe it will be same for the people here too, but this is a really good boost for the morale of people over here.”
Inayet Wadee spoke to Maseeha Saloojee, a South African teacher living in Syria. Listen to the full discussion here:
