Zeina Jadid… “The Earth Is No Longer a Safe Place”

Born on 25 March, Zeina was only days away from her twenty-first birthday. She was the youngest of Wafaa’s daughters, yet her presence was anything but small. Since childhood, Zeina had been an exceptional student, kind-hearted, and a peacemaker among those around her. She dreamed of becoming a doctor and was already in her third year at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Latakia. Diligent and talented, she was deeply dedicated to her studies and her classmates, never hesitating to share her knowledge or lend a helping hand. Her notebooks were carefully organized, her margins filled with Qur’anic verses, and her grades consistently above 90. With only one exam remaining, she told her mother with a smile, “I will get the highest marks so that you will always be happy.”

Her faith was profound and steady. She was a constant reader of the Qur’an, always shielding her sisters and friends with her prayers before every exam or journey,“Rely on God… I have prayed for you, and by His will, you will succeed.”

It was a Friday morning when Wafaa had just woken up and went to the kitchen to make coffee, while Zeina stood by the living room door. As she walked into the hallway, a bullet went through the window, shattering the blinds and glass before hitting her directly in the neck. She died standing there, with her mother right beside her.

To this day, her friends cannot believe she is gone. Whenever they sit for an exam, they visit Wafaa to comfort her, telling her that they are studying “for Zeina,” honoring the girl who loved excellence and pushed everyone around her to strive for it. Each month, Wafaa posts a tribute to her daughter, keeping Zeina’s memory as bright and full of light as her life once was. When Wafaa tries to describe her, she says, “I feel that language is too small to contain her. She was an angel, and even more.”

Wafaa adds, “Praise be to God. He gifted me an angel who lived with me for twenty-one years before calling her to His paradise. My heart finds peace knowing she is now with the Lord of the worlds, for the earth is no longer a safe place.”

[This account is based on the testimony of Wafaa Jadid, who lost her daughter, Zeina.]