Melissa Fleming's real life story of a Syrian refugee rescued from the waves finds a poignant narrative in her book
A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea
. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees spokesperson, Melissa Fleming writes a hopeful tale of a young Syrian refugee, Doaa al-Zamel, who is bravery personified.
The book begins with Doaa's family, and we read about her hopes and ambitions in life.
But soon, she is pushed to the brutal world where she has to flee the country with her family. The boat she's on with 500 other refugees is attacked and left to capsize in the Mediterranean. After four days, she is found in the sea with two baby girls clinging to her.
Fleming's book is a tale of loss and survival that seeks to highlight the urgency of the upliftment of Syrian refugees. Fleming, through Doaa's story, reflects on other refugees and their plight, while also bringing new perspectives to Doaa's remarkable tale, already known from media accounts. The book also provides the reader with a clear summary of Syria's elaborate civil war, that broke out in 2011.