Melissa Fleming: A boat carrying 500 refugees sunk at sea. The story of two survivors
Melissa Fleming sheds light on their devastating plight and remarkable resilience of refugees. Full bio
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of people fleeing for their lives,
and unfriendly seas.
that keeps me awake at night,
in Egypt working day wages.
of his thriving business back in Syria
was still raging in its fourth year.
that once welcomed them there
tried to kidnap her.
thinking only of her future,
with a fellow Syrian refugee named Bassem.
and he said to Doaa,
the promise of a new life."
for her hand in marriage.
they had to risk their lives,
notorious for their cruelty.
She never learned to swim.
and already 2,000 people had died
all the way to Northern Europe,
they consented,
2,500 dollars each --
when the call came,
hundreds of people on the beach.
onto an old fishing boat,
Africans, Muslims and Christians,
little Sandra, six years old --
crammed together shoulder to shoulder,
crammed up to her chest,
they were sick with worry
from the rough sea.
"I fear we're not going to make it.
"Please be patient.
we will get married
were getting agitated.
"When will we get there?"
and he insulted them.
the shores of Italy."
a smaller boat, 10 men on board,
hurling insults,
to all disembark
more unseaworthy boat.
for their children,
refused to disembark.
in the side of Doaa's boat,
and Bassem were sitting.
as the boat capsized and sank.
of the boat as it sank,
was cut to pieces by the propeller.
will kill you, too."
her arms and her legs,
Bassem found a life ring.
in swimming pools and on calm seas.
dangling by the side.
in groups, praying for rescue.
life vests off and sank into the water.
with a small baby perched on his shoulder,
to stay afloat, and he said to them,
the courage anymore."
over to Bassem and to Doaa,
Doaa, Bassem and little Malek.
in this story right here
take these kinds of risks?
in exile, in limbo.
from a war that has been raging
have been completely destroyed.
into neighboring countries,
for them in the desert.
live in camps like these,
millions, live in towns and cities.
that once welcomed them
water systems, sanitation.
could never handle such an influx
four million people over the borders,
are on the run inside the country.
the Syrian population
countries hosting so many.
has done too little to support them.
months into years.
to be temporary.
and Bassem was getting very weak.
to say to Bassem,
to our future. We will make it."
that I put you in this situation.
as much as I love you."
drowned before her eyes.
small 18-month-old daughter, Masa.
in the picture earlier,
everything in her power
"Please take this child.
I will not survive."
who was terrified of the water,
of two little baby kids.
and they were agitated,
to them from the Quran.
and turning black.
this is how Doaa probably looked
and approached her
and the mother drowned,
to find you water and food."
the little boy into the water.
crossing in the sky.
hoping they would see her,
as the sun was going down,
let them rescue me."
like she shouted for about two hours.
but finally the searchlights found her
clutching onto two babies.
they got oxygen and blankets,
to pick them up
"What of Malek?"
did not survive --
in the boat's clinic.
been pulled up onto the rescue boat,
that wreck, of the 500.
investigation into what happened.
about mass murder at sea,
hospital on Crete,
Her kidneys were failing.
in their medical power to save them,
singing her words.
and said pretty words to her in Arabic.
about the miracle baby,
without food or anything to drink,
from all over the country.
was in another hospital on Crete,
home as soon as she was released.
about Doaa's survival,
was published on Facebook.
what happened to my brother?
Do you know if they survived?"
my little niece, Masa."
to Sweden with his family
with him in Sweden,
in a beautiful orphanage in Athens.
about her survival, too.
about this slight woman,
she could survive all this time
most prestigious institutions,
with her family there.
and her father and her younger siblings
or a politician
fight injustice.
for her to study in Europe?
an airplane to Sweden?
program for Syrian refugees,
in the 1970s. Why not now?
in the neighboring countries
the wars, the persecution
so many people
their economies, the changes of culture.
than saving human lives?
fundamental here
crossing a sea to reach safety.
on those dangerous boats
that dangerous journey
for themselves and their children.
who drowned with them,
did not die in vain?
in which every life matters?
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Melissa Fleming - Voice for refugeesMelissa Fleming sheds light on their devastating plight and remarkable resilience of refugees.
Why you should listen
Almost 60 million people in the world today have been forcefully displaced from their home - a level not seen since WWII. As many as four million Syrian refugees have sought refuge in neighboring countries. In Lebanon, half of these refugees are children; only 20 percent are in school.
Melissa Fleming, Head of Communications and Spokesperson for the High Commissioner at UN's High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), calls on all of us to make sure that refugee camps are healing places where people can develop the skills they'll need to rebuild their hometowns. Investing in this, she says, may well be the most effective relief effort there is. This inspires her and the teams at the UNHCR to tell stories of the individuals who are displaced.
Fleming's 2017 book, A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea, was born out of the story of Doaa Al Zamel, told her in TED Talk.
Fleming was named senior advisor and spokesperson for UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, in October 2016.
Melissa Fleming | Speaker | TED.com