Syrian refugee retraining to become teacher in Wales

A Syrian woman who came to Wales as a refugee two years ago hopes to return to her new home to work as a teacher.

Inas Alali, who lives in Cardiff, hopes to be a role model for her children and “other refugee women who end their lives when they change countries”.

With the help of the Syrian Welsh Society, she received an interest-free loan that enables refugees with professional qualifications to retrain.

“I want to get on with my life,” said the 39-year-old.

In Syria, she taught children English and mathematics for 16 years.

She lived with her husband Wardan Alkoko and their two children Azza (13) and Abd Alrazak (8) in the western city of Hama.

But then civil war broke out in her country, her husband fell ill with cancer and died at the age of 42.

“He was so proud of me and I miss him a lot,” she said.

She is due to start her teacher training course this autumn and hopes to eventually teach math to children in Wales.

Inas secured the £7,000 loan provided by RefuAid through a selection process consisting of forms and interviews and will fund two years of teacher training.

The amount granted for the loans depends on the needs of each applicant and, similar to a student loan, will be repaid once the successful applicant gets a job.

The Deputy Chairman of the Syrian Welsh Society, Dr. Hussein Halabi said doctors, lawyers and teachers who came to the UK as refugees wanted “to go back to their previous jobs”.

“They want to pay, to contribute to society, to Welsh society, to wider British society,” he said.

“They need some kind of support to re-qualify … that’s why the loan is important.”

Inas said: “I want to move on with my life. I want to be a role model, first for my children, to be a good person in this country.

“As a refugee in this country, I think you can get a British passport in six years, but I think you have to earn that British passport.”