'I remember the utter sadness and not understanding what's going on…it was so cold'
Marjie Halati who has dedicated her life to helping refugees and marginalised women looks back at her childhood in a Welsh boarding school
Marjie grew up in Wales and it shaped her significantly
(Image: Images from production of Finding Hope )
It takes a very special type of person to be a charity worker, fearlessly and selflessly putting others needs in front of their own, and sometimes it can take a very poignant reason to pursue this work. This is the case for Marjie Halati who is an incredible woman and has her own personal reasons for dedicating her life to helping refugees and marginalised women.
Marjie, who is from Iran, spent two years of her life in boarding school in Rhyl and it was this experience that shaped her into becoming the fearless and determined charity worker she is.
While Marjie, who is also a psychologist, did not have a positive time in Wales, hating being so far away from home and unable to have any control over her own life, something she hopes to resolve, it made her inexplicably who she is. Aged 60, Marjie has devoted her life and her work to helping refugees and marginalised women.
She successfully ran an organisation, called Omid, which means hope in Farsi, in Iran, for years before it was shut down and raided by the Iranian government in 2022. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter .
This meant Marjie lost her charity and life's work overnight and is unable to ever return to Iran. Now she continues to help refugees and Marjie's story is told in the BBC documentary Finding Hope, which was made by Welsh-Iranian film maker Sara Nourizadeh.
Marjie explained to WalesOnline how her childhood in Wales shaped her into who she is today. She said: "Not to have a voice or choice to be sent to Wales, to boarding school… for me, as a little girl of 11, it was like being uprooted and not having a choice.
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"It kinda fits in with the idea of being a refugee because you are uprooted and also not having a voice. Unconsciously, that was part of my psychology, and that's why I wanted to work with women... That is how it kind of weaves into what I do, my own past."
'I just sat there and sobbed and sobbed'
Speaking about how she felt at boarding school in Wales, having been sent there after a summer in London by her parents and having no idea she would not be returning to Iran, Marjie said: "I remember the utter sadness and not understanding what's going on… it was so cold."
Not speaking any English and sharing a room with six other girls, Marjie felt lost. She said: "It's a picture that is kind of fixed in my mind, that sadness, that sense of alienation and uprootedness and these are words that I am using now but of course, as an 11 year old, I didn't understand.
"I remember I just sat there and sobbed and sobbed, I cried so many days and months, the whole time I was crying because I couldn't really digest what was happening."
In desperation Marjie went on hunger strike at the boarding school, admitting that she did smuggle in biscuits so it wasn't a full on hunger strike and looking back at that time, she said: "Looking back at the girl I was at the time, it was her taking a stance… so good for her! I'm very pleased for her now."
Talking about the impact of her schooling experience in Wales, Marjie said: "I think it has shaped me in the sense, I don't take things lying down and I stand for something, whether it's politics or marginalised girls or refugees.
"That when there is an injustice I think, I might not win, I might be able to accomplish anything, but I don't take it lying down, and I take a stance on any issues which are important to me."
Marjie back at the boarding school in Wales, filming Finding Hope
(Image: Images from production of Finding Hope )
In the documentary, Marjie revisits her former school, which is now a hotel. Talking about going back, Marjie said: "I remember that night when I went back to my room to sleep, I couldn't. It was like it was haunted.
"For miles and miles, it's just green and you don't see any buildings, and I am an urban person, so as a little kid being in the middle of nowhere and it still felt like being in the middle of nowhere... Even as an adult visiting, I'd be devastated if someone left me there."
Marjie is determined to repair her relationship with Wales and intends to holiday here in July. She said: "It is gorgeous, it is beautiful and I don't want the memories to tarnish the beauty of Wales and I love the Welsh because they are just so friendly and lovely."
It is clear that Marjie has a deep and genuine passion for her work, she said: "When you really have your heart in the work, when you really believe in them, which I do, totally, and when you see them as human beings rather than refugees, it gives you that passion and the energy to continue because, it is not work, it is a belief in the goodness of the work and the importance of the work.
"The feeling that you have done something of some value, for even one human being, is so satisfying and soul-nourishing." Sara also spoke to WalesOnline about why she wanted to make a documentary with Marjie.
She said: "It felt like such a privilege to follow Marji's work… I felt like it was an opportunity for her to celebrate that work and going on that journey was a huge honour and privilege.
"I tend to only make films about people when I believe the process can offer something meaningful to them as well. With Finding Hope, I knew it wasn't going to change what Marjie had been through, but I did hope it could be a way of reflecting back to her just how much she had achieved.
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"She had lost so much, her charity had been shut down, she'd been exiled, and people she cared about were imprisoned. But that wasn't the whole story. For me, this film was about showing the impact she's had and the lives she's changed." You can watch Marjie's documentary, Finding Hope, on BBC iPlayer.
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