Syrian refugee Raghda Hasriyeh, 11, whacks a ball against the wall of a squash court as she practises in front of her parents in the Jordanian capital of Amman
Syrian refugee Raghda Hasriyeh, 11, whacks a ball against the wall of a squash court as she practises in front of her parents in the Jordanian capital of Amman. Along with a group of other young girls displaced by the war in their homeland she has been playing the sport for almost a year thanks to a US charity -- and now she dreams of taking on all-comers. "I love this sport. I train almost every day," Raghda said.
Syrian refugee Raghda Nizar Yusef Hasriyeh plays squash during a recent training session in Amman, Jordan. Pic/ AFP
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"I hope that I can travel around the whole world and take part in Arab championships and international ones." Since the conflict in Syria broke out in 2011 the UN estimates more than 330,000 children have been among the waves of people who fled across the border into Jordan.
Five years ago Raghda and her family escaped the bombs and bullets in their battered hometown of Homs before gradually making their way to safety in the kingdom.
"God alone knows what would have happened to my five children and I if I had not decided to flee my country," said Raghda's father Nizar Hasriyeh.
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