TWO brave women who fled war-torn Syria to make a new life in Chester will tell their stories of hope, determination and community as part of a new Storyhouse festival.

Storyhouse's Festival of Languages, which runs from January 23-27, will share, celebrate and give a platform to the many speaking cultures across the borough.

And in a unique event on Sunday, January 27, two members of Chester’s Syrian community will give accounts of their experiences of both fleeing the country and making a new life in Chester.

Yasmin Sofi, a 35-year-old radiographer from the city of Qamishli in north-eastern Syria, will tell the story of how her brother, a 23-year-old medical student, was forced to flee Syria after being arrested by Kurdish activists in 2011.

He escaped to Iraq, then Turkey before making a perilous journey across the Mediterranean to Greece, before finally settling in Germany. After five years, he is now at the University of Greifswald in north eastern Germany studying medicine again.

Yasmin’s parents are alone in Iraq. She said: "We are trying to get them to the UK to be with me and my sisters, life is very hard for them, we want to be reunited as a family."

Yasmin is currently studying for the International English Language Test, designed to assess the language ability of candidates who need to study or work using English.

She is very keen to start working as a radiographer again, her only barrier is her language skills. "I want to work for the NHS, all that is stopping me is my English," she explained.

Yasmin studies at the English School in Chester every week.

Lamis Almuqdad, 35, worked in aviation in Damascus. She will tell her story of hope, and how she is determined to start a new life in Chester and build a community for resettled Syrian people.

She said: "If I tell the story of my experience of leaving Syria it will upset people; I want to tell my story of hope and resilience."

Lamis has founded a group of Syrian women who meet regularly at Storyhouse to practise needlework, they were some of the community groups that met HRH The Queen and the Duchess of Sussex when they visited Storyhouse in June.

She said: "Learning the language is the hardest part of settling into a new community, it creates many obstacles. Sometimes my Syrian friends will call me on the phone when they are in a supermarket and ask to translate to the staff, simple things like shopping can be very hard.

"I am encouraging people to take English lessons, driving lessons so that they can have more independence and to be part of their children’s school community. Nearly all the Syrian people that live here want jobs, want to be part of the community."

The free event will take place on Sunday, January 27, at 1pm, it will be in English with some Arabic interpretation. Lamice and Yasmin agreed "people will need to bring their tissues."

Nicola Haigh, schools and communities manager at Storyhouse, said: "This is a rare chance to listen to voices that represent not only a small community in Chester but many people's experiences across the UK and beyond.

"It is a safe environment to get a personal insight into these brave women’s lives, who may be your neighbour. Anyone is welcome."

The Festival of Languages features Hungarian folk dance, the art of Kimono dressing, mandarin writing workshops, Indian dance, Polish-culture talks, open Italian language lessons, plus workshops on public speaking and live poetry events.

Find out more at storyhouse.com.

Chester is part of the City of Sanctuary group that holds the vision that the UK will be a welcoming place of safety for all and proud to offer sanctuary to people fleeing violence and persecution. Find out more at cityofsanctuary.org.