A Muslim UCF graduate, now USF pre med student, took a risk traveling to help others.
- Muslim student travels to Syria to help refugees despite risks
- Sameer Jagani on a mission to bring good into this world
- Jagani plans to continue traveling and helping others
Sameer Jagani, 22, went to the Middle East, just as the travel ban went into effect, and on the sixth anniversary of the start of the Syrian Civil War.
Jagani is determined to do good in a world filled with uncertainty.
In January, Jagani volunteered at a Syrian refugee camp in Greece.
“Where all the boats you see on the news with refugees coming in? I would actually be on the shore, welcoming those boats,” he said.
But Jagani said he wanted to do more and go to Syria.
“The real difficulty was convincing my parents,” Jagani said. “I booked my ticket the day of the travel ban. Things got a little rocky, everyone was trying to convince me not to go.”
In February, he traveled with a British humanitarian aid group to Syria.
“On the right side of the road, everything’s fine. On the left side, everything is destroyed,” Jagani said.
Each day he posted videos showing the destruction around him and the heartbreak.
“These four kids are by themselves, split amongst two families,” Jagani said, describing one of his videos.
He said what he saw there moved him to tears.
“I went to one of these schools, and they would not let go of you,” he said.
Jagani doesn’t know where he’ll go next, but said he’s not done.
He said the emotional toll is worth it.
“I thought to myself, no matter what the consequences are, if I can help someone, I’ll do it.”
He has also raised over 50,000 dollars for Syrian women and children.
Jagani also said he didn’t have any trouble getting back into the United States.
He also mentioned that the town where his group went, southeast of Damascus, was bombed this past weekend. Over 70 people on a pilgrimage there died.