Yara Said was 6 years old when she first heard the word “war.” Now based in Amsterdam, the chatty Syrian talks passionately about how she long wanted to travel the world. “I always lived in a shaky place, financially, socially, and ecologically,” Said says, “but I didn’t think I would go this way.” Equipped with her backpack, her iPhone, and hopes of a whole new world, the 26-year-old fled a dangerous Damascus back in the fall of 2015. A yearlong journey took her through nine…

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Read more stories by Méabh Mc Mahon.