Najla Burghul enters university at over 70

Najla Burghul a Syrian dreamer who did not let neither age, nor war circumstances prevent her from realizing her dream of learning and entering university. She was able to defy all obstacles and moved from literacy seats to university auditorium.

At the beginning, she wanted to study at the childcare faculty, but she could not, so she studied at the library department, which is the second choice that she loved and wished to study, and she is today on the verge of graduation.

Ms. Burghul said  that she was living with her family in Al- Qaboun neighborhood in Damascus;when gunmen forced her to leave her home after she lost two sons in the war. Subsequently, they went to Tishreen Park in the center of Damascus and slept there for four days, before they fled to Lattakia governorate and rented a house in the suburb of Besnada in Lattakia.

Although Najla failed for two consecutive years in ninth grade  exams, she did not let despair enter her heart and passed it the third time. In the following year, she submitted secondary school exams and passed with marks that qualified her to register at the library department that she loves.

She described her feelings towards knowledge, saying: “While studying I blew out all the sadness, anger and oppression deeply set inside me as a result of the loss of my children in the war, my departure from my home with my family, and the days of suffering that we lived while we were looking for shelter.”

She concluded: “My dream will not end with graduating from the library department, as I seek to study a master’s degree after graduation. I will continue my education until the last day of my life.

Lama Razzouq