“I believe in women supporting women and I see only one direction for the road, which is forward.”
Mechelin Wehbi, the charismatic leader, inspires and motivates you to work harder in order to achieve your goals. She leaves no room for despair or failure and encourages you not to give up. But instead, learn from past experiences until you succeed and fulfill yourself.
It is noteworthy that Mechelin Wehbi is an agricultural engineer. Originally started studying media at the Syrian Virtual University, but did not complete her studies due to various reasons.
She now works in public relations in the United Arab Emirates. Which makes you in awe of how she was able to prove her competence without a relevant university degree. As a testament to her dedication and perseverance, she won the UAE Estesmarat Magazine Award for Individual Achievement in the field of public relations and communication in 2023.
Let us get to know more about this distinguished leader.
I am a young Syrian woman from a beautiful village called Qatina. I believe that continuous effort will eventually yield results. I have worked and struggled to achieve my dreams in spite of difficult circumstances.
I rejoice in any achievement of women, however small. Especially those of Syrian women, as I believe they are natural-born heroes. I strive and take pride in highlighting the successes of Syrian women through the segment featuring success stories on the initiative’s website.
There is no despair as long as we’re living and continuously trying. Even if we don’t achieve our goals, we must learn from experiences and how to avoid remaking past mistakes. Every ambitious and hardworking person is destined to reach the dreams that they’re pursuing. Surrendering serves no good and in the end, life goes on. We are constantly racing against time, and so we must always strive for the best. I only see one direction in every aspect of my life, and that is forward.
Agricultural engineering was the best fit for my overall high school score, which is how the majority of Syrian students choose their majors. As for the media, it has been my personal passion and goal. My interest in the Arabic language since school and continuous improvement of its skills has helped me present myself as a writer and a linguistic editor.
I began my journey in the field of media when I was involved in the process of reviving the newspaper “Homs” (which is the oldest newspaper in Syria since 1909) electronically. As its real-life location was destroyed by war. The task was of high responsibility due to the reputable name of the newspaper, its prestigious history, its authenticity, and its place in the memory and hearts of the people of Homs.
At the same time, I began working for the magazine “Shbabeeki”, where I contributed to writing a variety of content. The closest to my heart was the section featuring success stories in Syria. Because I always believe that each of us has an inspiring story and a unique journey that should be highlighted.
Honestly, I did not find any support at the beginning. My family rejected the idea of me studying media in university and persistently guided me towards studying agricultural engineering. However, that did not discourage me, and I continued to pursue my passion alongside my studies.
I also cannot overlook the role of the people whom I worked with and who gave me the opportunity to gain experience. I would like to give a shout-out to Carol Zakhour, the founder of the Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative. She believed in me from the very beginning and supported my vision and ideas. Together, we worked on perfecting the quality of the written content of the initiative to its current level, and we will not stop at any limit.
First of all, each of us has our own unique experiences and circumstances that must be taken into account. However, from my personal experience, I did not think of my agricultural engineering studies as a waste of time. On the contrary, I always focused on the positive aspects and paid attention to things that could benefit me. At the same time, I did not hesitate to pursue my ambition and passion for the media. I was able, and still strive, to develop my experience and improve my skills in this field.
Therefore, I encourage everyone to carefully make the best out of their surrounding circumstances. They should never give up on their dreams, no matter how long it takes to achieve them.
There is a saying that I love, which encapsulates the significance of public relations. It says, “Everything we say or do is public relations”. Public relations works to connect the client with other parties. In addition, guide them to the companies and services that serve their interests best according to their business needs. This includes the media that conveys the different experiences and services that the client can provide to their customers, based on their demands and needs.
It is the responsibility of public relations specialists to be well-educated. As they may work for a client in the field of economics. So they must possess sufficient knowledge in economics and management science to be able to work with that client. The same applies to a client working in the art industry, and so on and so forth. The nature of the work of public relations will vary according to the nature of the organization and clients worked with. So there might be public relations specialists who work in the lifestyle industry, which includes art, fashion, and entertainment venues such as restaurants and gardens. There are also public relations specialists who work in the corporate sector, business, and startups. Public relations is an integral part of the work media does. Healthy business relationships are a mutual benefit for all parties involved.
Every young person who moves away from their home country will face challenges. But the difficult circumstances of my country ultimately led me to immigrate. This has made my personality stronger and increased my ability to make accurate and logical decisions. Additionally, to bear the consequences of my decisions regardless of what they might be.
This is why we must work on turning every negativity or difficulty we encounter into something that we can benefit from in our journey. As for the Emirati labor market, it is one of the largest and most advanced markets in the world. It is a highly competitive one, where you can find talents from all over the world. With people holding degrees from prestigious universities, speaking different languages, and possessing many skills. Therefore, one must be well prepared in order to be able to survive and succeed in it.
I’ve always loved reading since I was little. My father had a library. I clearly remember, when I was no older than 12 years old the first novel I read was “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens. It is an incredibly rich and influential novel.
I also loved classic Arabic poetry. I used to discuss the meanings of poetic verses and the stories behind poems with my grandfather, may his soul rest in peace. Among my favorite novelists are Gabriel Garcia Marquez, especially his novel “Chronicle of a Death Foretold,” and Dostoevsky for his deep and moving work.
Proper upbringing yields results, and an avid reader will inevitably become a writer someday. It was also an honor for me to meet the great Syrian writer (Khaled Khalifa), may his soul rest in peace, and learn from his immense experience in literature, history, and life during three writing workshops. The result of these workshops was my first literary work “When the Sun Rises After” published in a collection of short stories titled “We Write to Survive” under the supervision of the inspiring writer (Salwa Zakzak).
The initiative is an integral part of my daily and personal life and my dreams. It represents everything I believe in and aspire to be a part of, from creating a safe space for women and helping them with whatever they may need help with, to working towards raising societal awareness and contributing to creating a better world.
On a professional level, my current job is a direct result of the experiences and skills I developed while working with the Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative as the head of the Content Writing and Public Relations Teams.
My golden advice for women in general, from my perspective, is to not simply justify outcomes with failure but to analyze and understand the experience and benefit from it on the way to success. Do not use surrounding circumstances as an excuse to not achieve what we aspire to. The opportunity will not come at your doorsteps, you have to go out and strive to find it.
My upcoming goals are to maintain my responsibilities in developing both the content writing and public relations sectors of the initiative and to support the exceptional teams in each of them. Here, I would like to express genuine gratitude to each and every one of them. They are an integral part of my journey and have a special place in my heart.
I aspire to further develop my skills in the field of public relations and also return to writing and journalism. As for the big dream, it’s writing a novel.
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