A refugee who fled Syria and came to Wales in search of a better life is celebrating the start of her new dream career, just three years on from moving to a new country without speaking any English.
Originally from Syria, Eva Ali moved to Cardiff three years ago from Turkey after initially leaving her home country due to the ongoing war.
Determined to forge a career for herself, she set about learning English as quickly as possible and signed up to study a cabin crew qualification as a mature learner at Coleg y Cymoedd, inspired by her love of travel.
Eva, who was a famous newsreader back in Syria, made the difficult decision to leave her home and career to move to Turkey in 2014 after fearing for her own life due to the conflict. Having heard from other family members who had sought sanctuary in Wales about the kindness and support they had experienced; she was inspired to join them in the Welsh capital.
Despite not knowing any English when she arrived in the UK, and having not been in education for 20 years, Eva refused to let anything get in the way of her following her career dreams. She quickly signed up to learn English before starting her level 2 cabin crew course at Coleg y Cymoedd. With her improved English, she also volunteered her time to the Welsh Refugee Council, offering administerial support and helping translate several languages into English for other refugees.
Eva said:
“When I first moved to Cardiff, I was hoping for a fresh start. I wanted to find a way to move forward in my life. I have always had a deep interest in different countries and their different cultures, and I love travelling. I speak several languages including Turkish, Arabic, Kurdish and now, English too, and I really wanted to pursue a career that would allow me to incorporate these in a professional setting.
“It has been a while since I was in school, so I was apprehensive about starting college, especially because my English is not so good. I was worried that I would not be able to understand properly and would not be as good as others on the course but the college and people were very supportive.”
No stranger to the educational system, Eva had previously completed a degree in Political Science at Damascus University in Syria before turning her hand to the aviation industry.
Speaking about her experience at college, Eva added:
“I’ve had a really rich experience attending Coleg y Cymoedd and studying the cabin crew course. Before I began, I had no real knowledge of the responsibilities that came with training to be cabin crew. The course has provided me with a wealth of knowledge I can take moving forward into an actual career.
“I was very nervous about joining college due to the cultural differences between me and the other students, but I quickly integrated and soon made lots of friends. I have felt so welcomed by everybody and I’ve loved every minute of my time here. I’m excited to see where this can now lead me in the future.”
