Syrian refugee retraining to become teacher in Wales

A Syrian woman who arrived in Wales as a refugee two years ago hopes to get back into teaching in her new homeland.

Inas Alali, who lives in Cardiff, hopes to be a role model for her children and "other refugee women who stop their life when they change their country".

She got an interest-free loan which allows refugees with professional qualifications to retrain, with the help of the Syrian Welsh Society.

"I'd like to continue my life," the 39-year-old said.

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

She lived with her husband Wardan Alkoko and their two children Azza, 13, and Abd Alrazak, eight, in the city of Hama in the west of the country.

But then civil war broke out in her country and her husband became ill with cancer and died aged 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 eventually to teach maths to children in Wales.

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

The amount awarded for the loans depends on each applicant's needs and, much like a student loan, will start being repaid once the successful applicant gets a job.

Syrian Welsh Society vice-chairman Dr Hussein Halabi said doctors, lawyers and teachers who came to the UK as refugees wanted to "return to the jobs that they used to do".

"They want to pay, to contribute to the society, the Welsh society, the wider British society," he said.

"They need some sort of support to requalify... that is why the loan is important."

Inas said: "I'd like to continue my life. I'd like to be a 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 deserve getting this British passport."