JINHA

IZMIR – Armenian Syrian refugee Claudia Brounsuzian is one of countless refugee women who have fled the war in Syria for Turkey. Claudia, who lost her father and brother in the war in Syria, now serves on the board of the Izmir Association of Syrian Refugees, where she leads the struggle of refugee women.

In a system that denies women the basic right to life, being a woman refugee brings with it its own challenges. For 21-year-old Armenian Syrian Claudia Brounsuzian, the challenges are great. Despite the fact that she knows seven languages, Claudia has been refused work in Turkey. Today, she serves on the board of the Association of Syrian Refugees in the Aegean city of Izmir.

In 2012, Claudia was a first-year law student in Syria. After her father and brother were murdered in their car, Claudia got a call from her friend in Mersin, Turkey, who had heard that war had broken out in Syria. She and her mother spent their life savings to flee to Turkey, disguised in Muslim garb to avoid their Armenian identity being discovered.

Then, Claudia was struggling with intense depression after the traumatic loss she had survived. The only thing she knew about Turkey was that it had a high rape rate; indeed, soon after she managed to get a job at a local real estate office, a man attempted to invade the office when Claudia was working one evening, although she resisted.She later found that her employer, who regularly insulted her, had sent the man.

"After this, I started being distant from people and became more inwards. Whenever someone came to speak to me, I'd get nervous and start thinking, 'what do they want from me?'" she said. She kept quiet about the poor working conditions, but was looking for a way out. Claudia won a scholarship to the Girne American University in Cyprus to continue her law education, but was unable to attend because she had to work 12 hours a day to support herself and her mother.

Claudia had heard of the city of Izmir, Turkey as one with a history of having a large Greek and Armenian population. Hoping for a more tolerant environment than Mersin, she and her mother moved there. However, when she arrived, she discovered that every work interview ended negatively when employers found out that she was Syrian and Armenian. She and her mother spent months sleeping in a park.

Claudia was about to commit suicide by jumping into the sea when a passerby stopped her. She abandoned the idea when she thought of her mother.

Now, Claudia hopes to study law in Izmir, but says she does not know how it will be economically possible. Her most serious expense is her mother's medication, which Claudia pays for out of pocket and without which her mother will go into a coma. Being a Syrian refugee makes everything worse, she says.

"I don't have the luxury of ever being late on rent, because I don’t want to hear them say, 'just like Syrians" if I do," she said.

Claudia became involved in the Izmir Association of Syrian Refugees when she met association president Muhammad Salih. The association paid for her mother's medication for three months as Claudia got on her feet. In the next association election, Claudia was elected as the youngest ever member of the association's board—and the first woman and Armenian. She said the elections victory has given her a confidence boost, but prospects are dim.

"Nothing can get rid of this longing for our homeland. We just want this war in our country to end and to go back home," said Claudia.

(mh/gc/cm)