A day in the life of Sola
- Pseudonym: Sola
- Age :20 years old
- Nationality: Turkman
- Marital status: engaged at 18
- Work status: not working
11:00 am: waking up
Sola wakes up at 11 am, because she usually goes to sleep late. She washes her face in the portable pot used mostly for everything like washing food, and taking showers. This causes some problems when it comes to privacy inside the house.
Sola says: ”My family and community live in tents, for that reason, we don’t always have access to electricity or running water”. She adds :”It has been almost a week since the last time I washed my face, only today were we able to afford to pay for a water tank to supply us with water”.
Cooking
The first thing Sola does after she wakes up is prepare some food for the whole family, which is very important, before the men leave for work.
Most Turkman men and adolescents rely on collecting scrap metal from around the area they live in. This is considered to be the main means of profit. They gather metals, old electronics, and old devices and sell them for quick cash.
House chores
Sola’s family tent is an important part of their small community. Everyone is always coming and going to visit her family, which causes the tent to become dirty most of the time. It is Sola’s responsibility to keep the tent clean and tidy, which takes a lot of effort, especially given that the flooring is made out of plastic.
Lunch and babysitting for the family
The Turkman community has a tribal structure, they share everything together. After cooking lunch, they share the food with all the other families, neighbors and tents. Sola and her sisters also share the responsibility of taking care of all the children, they feed them, bathe them, play with them, and keep an eye on them while playing outside.
Fun with friends
As Turkman girls, they don’t have a lot of options when it comes to recreational activities. Sola can only spend time in the tents with other Turkman girls their age. The Turkman community do not like to interact very much with their Jordanian counterparts. Sola says: ”The conflict between Turkmans and Jordanians is the reason I left school when I was only 12 years old. I got bullied in school because of my ethnicity and the way I looked”.
Sola and her friends are very close, they love chatting, singing and dancing. They do make-up sessions with each other, try on different clothes, and dye their hair in unique colors.
