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Big-hearted swimmer Hannah Turner is covering the length of the English Channel to raise funds for reuniting displaced Afghan and Syrian children with their families.
The 46-year-old tutor from Umm Al Hassam has spent the summer swimming pool lengths to cover the equivalent of the English Channel, which, at its narrowest point, is 22 miles (35.4km) from France to Dover, England. This is equivalent to about 1,416 lengths of a 25-metre-pool, of which Hannah has covered 518, at the time of publication.
“For a child to be away from their family is incredibly heart-breaking,” the British expatriate told GulfWeekly.
“I was inspired to take up this challenge after watching a play called The Jungle by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, which highlights the suffering of Syrian children who are separated from their families.”
In The Jungle, refugees and migrants attempted to gain entry to the United Kingdom via the port of Calais in France, where a refugee camp was located. Some even contemplated swimming the English Channel.
In solidarity with the refugees, Hannah is swimming the equivalent length of the Channel. She initially set a target of £500 (BD260), which she will be donating to Save the Children, a UK-based charity that helps children around the world stay safe, healthy and in school.
Hannah intends on directing these funds to Syrian children. The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) estimates that there are more than a million people displaced in northeast Syria alone.
It was Hannah’s friendship with a Syrian swimming instructor that also galvanised her efforts.
“Almost 21 years ago, I was living and teaching in Qatar when a group of us made a friend at the local swimming pool, named Martez, who had been a survival swimming instructor for the Syrian Army,” she reminisced.
“I was always mesmerised when Martez spoke of Syria – his home. He was so proud of his country and its people, and when he described it, it sounded magnificent. It was firmly on my bucket list.
“Today, I am no longer in touch with Martez and taking a holiday in Syria is a distant dream. Syria is now in its 10th year of a terrifying conflict that has destroyed thousands of childhoods, and continues to do so. Millions of families have been displaced and face unimaginable horror.
“On top of this, a third wave of Covid-19 has left the country struggling with a chronic shortage of hospital beds, oxygen, testing kits and water. There is no peace for the children of Syria and their suffering is heart-breaking.”
Having crossed her initial target, Hannah is redirecting the next £500 (BD260) to Afghan children, who are suffering as the Taliban have taken over the country. On August 15, the Taliban took over Kabul and hundreds of thousands of Afghan nationals now fear for their lives, after having worked with international missions in the country over the last two decades.
According to Unicef executive director Henrietta Fore, approximately 435,000 children and women are internally displaced in Afghanistan.
Having started in July, Hannah hopes to cover the total distance and raise the £1,000 (BD520) in a total of 12 weeks, which is approximately by October. She started swimming at pools in the UK and Ireland, during her summer vacation, and intends to complete the challenge at an expatriate club’s pool in Bahrain.
“Every dinar counts – it doesn’t have to be a big donation,” Hannah added.
“Every donation helps bring a family together and a child have a better, brighter future!”
