A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Refugee's Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival

Melissa Fleming

Jan 2017 · Sold by Flatiron Books

About this ebook

"Urgently required reading." —People
"Deeply affecting... Fleming brings a moral urgency to the narrative." —The New Yorker
"Fleming deftly illustrates the pain of those who choose to leave Syria...and her book is ultimately a story of hope." —Newsweek

The stunning story of a young woman, an international crisis, and the triumph of the human spirit.

Adrift in a frigid sea, no land in sight, just debris from the ship's wreckage and floating corpses all around, nineteen-year-old Doaa Al Zamel stays afloat on a small inflatable ring and clutches two little girls—barely toddlers—to her body. The children had been thrust into Doaa's arms by their drowning relatives, all refugees who boarded a dangerously overcrowded ship bound for Italy and a new life. For days as Doaa drifts, she prays for rescue and sings to the babies in her arms. She must stay alive for them. She must not lose hope.

A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea chronicles the life of Doaa, a Syrian girl whose life was upended in 2011 by the onset of her country's brutal civil war. Doaa and her fiance, Bassem, decide to flee to Europe to seek safety and an education, but four days after setting sail on a smuggler's dilapidated fishing vessel along with five hundred other refugees, their boat is struck and begins to sink. This is the moment when Doaa's struggle for survival really begins.

This emotionally charged, eye-opening true story that represents the millions of unheard voices of refugees who risk everything in a desperate search for the promise of a safe future. In the midst of the most pressing international humanitarian crisis of our time, Melissa Fleming paints a vivid, unforgettable portrait of the triumph of the human spirit.

Ratings and reviews

We've all seen the footage from Syrian cities of what local and foreign forces have visited upon the citizens, but this book brings one family into view. It could be anyone's family anywhere in the world under circumstances beyond normal control. Their denomination is reviled along with their political views, and the bullies take over with no regard for human life. This is not a historical pogrom, nor a tribal war in history, but happening today. Born in 1995, Doaa was raised in a large extended family in a decent neighborhood. In time, the political scene changed and the quality of life deteriorated. In 2012 her father contacted a relative, and arrangements were made to leave everything and nearly everyone they knew to emigrate to Egypt. There they lived meagerly, working hard and becoming thin and frail. In time the man who was determined to marry her saved Doaa and her mother from illnesses not uncommon in refugees, and in 2014 it became apparent that they needed to move on to Europe if there was to be any hope for a decent life. The decision itself was heartrending, but there was no hope for any decent kind of future for refugees in Egypt at that time. So they began to experience the heartless cruelty of the smugglers who are motivated only by greed. There was more hardship and deaths and devastating loss. Finally, heart sick and near death, she was befriended in Greece and began to think that there might be hope. But like most refugees anywhere and in any time, her greatest hope is to return to the homeland. I feel very fortunate to have won a Goodreads Giveaway which I entered and received a free review copy from Flatiron Books.

About the author

MELISSA FLEMING is chief spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She travels to war zones and refugee camps to give voice to the millions of people forcibly displaced from their homes. She is frequently quoted in international media, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and NPR. She first told Doaa's story on the TED stage and her talks are featured on TED.com.