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| Zaatari refugee camp, Jordan |
On March 2011 a group of
young boys spray-painting graffiti anti-government slogans on
the walls of their school – it was the “spark that lit the flame” - was the
headline in the international media. A
few days later on March 18th, 2011 protesters took to the streets of
Deraa demanding the release of all the children, reforms and to the end of Bashar
al-Assad’s regime. At first it was a
peaceful demonstration inspired by the Arab Spring demanding changes and
freedom. In response, brutal force was sent to break the peaceful
demonstrators.
As a result of the enormous
number of Syrian refugees, the Jordanian government along with United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees opened Zaatari camp on July 2012 in order to
accommodate those who had leave their homes. Located in Mafraq Jordan, Zaatari became
the second largest refugee camp in the world and the fourth largest city in
Jordan.
As we approached Zaatari camp
I could feel the excitement of a busy city with lots going on. The freeway was
being repaired and enlarged since traffic had increased since the opening of
the camp. Buses, trucks and cars were driving
in and out of the camp delivering people and supplies. At the main entrance young
men and kids waited outside the camp with carts hoping to make a little bit of
money by carrying the belongings of those coming and going. Heavy security with barricades controlled the flux
of cars and people. Identification and permissions of those hoping to get into
the camp were closely inspected. Noise, dust, chaos…
Walking the dusty streets of
this refugee camp situated near the Jordanian boarder with Syria, one could not
avoid noticing the large number of white tents and aluminum containers. Zaatari
is the new home for approximately 150,000 Syrian’s refugees--half of them children.
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Children with a Free Syria Army flag in
Zaatari camp.
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My first visit was to one of the
International Medical Corps clinic. They offer services such as child
protection for distressed children, programs about violence against women,
protection against early marriage and training courses for women’s health and
basic survival skills among others. It was here where I met Azhar – a
thirteen-year old young boy from Deraa. When he first came to Zaatari, Azhar
was struggling to cope with the aftermath of dislocation from war – living in a
tent in a refugee camp. He was traumatized and very angry. Azhar has been
living in the camp for over a year now with his family. He has made new friends,
is going to school and is feeling much happier now. Like all refugees, Azhar
wants to go back home. When I told him I was from Brazil his eyes shinned and
he confessed to his dream of becoming a soccer player.
A short while later, I met
another refugee Safa who is using her maternal skills to help others. Twenty-four, married and the mother of two,
she was studying economics in Syria. She became a volunteer at IMC’s center even
though she had no experience in social services. A bright young woman she felt
the need to help Syrian children overcome the myriad social and psychological
problems associated with war; it was also a way of earning a little money. As
she mentioned “the center is a place where they can come and have some support.
It is a place where they feel safe. These kids have been through a lot
including violence. The war and sometimes problems at home as well”. Safa wants
to return home where her husband had a job and she wants her kids to go to
school in Syria. She knows it is going to take a while for her dream to come true.
Most of the people I met in
Zaatari camp come from the city of Deraa in southern Syria. A they mentioned when they took to the streets
to protest they never thought it would became a civil war much less for over
three years. As the violence escalated families were forced to abandon their homes
and lives in search of safety. Most of them crossed the border with whatever little
possessions they could carry. Others crossed with only the clothes they were
wearing. Some drove trucks to the border where they were met by the police or
by the workers of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
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On March 18th, Syrian refugees of all ages
gathered to revive the beginning of the civil unrest where they expressed their
political views against Assad’s regime and showed their support for the Free Syria
Army.
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March 18, 2014, while
visiting Zaatari camp I watched hundreds of Syrian refugees of all ages gathered
to commemorate the beginnings of the civil unrest. They expressed their
political views against Assad’s regime and showed their support for the Syrian
Free Army. Children were dressed sharply and carried SFA flags. Many were holding
out hope for freedom and for dreams of going home. For the ones who were too
young to understand they could only follow their parent’s hopes and dreams of a
brighter future.
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On March 18th, Syrian refugees of all ages gathered
in Zaatari camp to commemorate the beginning of Syria’s civil war. They
expressed their political views against Assad’s regime and showed their support
for the Free Syria Army.
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Unfortunately, the future does
not look bright for Syrian children when considering their lack of education.
It is a very serious problem for Syria as a country and one that it will have
to face in the future. They are being called the “Lost Generation”. The January 2014 “UNICEF Education Services
in Zaatari Camp Report” indicated that to date there are three schools
operating in double shifts. Morning shifts for girls and afternoon shifts for
boys with a total of 20,608 registered students. One of the challenges to
school attendance is child labor and household responsibilities especially
among boys. Another one is early marriage – a common practice in Syria.
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Syrian attending K9 class in Zaatari refugee camp.
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Muzoon, 16 years old, is from
Derra. She came with her parents, two
brothers and a young sister to Zaatari a little over a year ago. I met this
inspiring young woman at International Rescue Committee center. Determined to
continue with her education she is attending one of the schools run by UNICEF
at Zaatari camp. Her interest in education,
and her sheer willpower to overcome the harsh reality of life in a refugee camp
immediately gained the organization’s attention
She was appointed UNICEF’s
Ambassador for Education and is working with the organization to raise awareness
on the need to attend school. A resilient young woman, she believes her people
should not be afraid of their present circumstances and hardships, but think of
the future and how they are going to rebuild the country once they are back in
their homeland. “We have to be strong and not feel defeated”, she adds.
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Young boys hanging out in front of school waiting to
go inside for classes
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In a 200 square foot aluminum
white container, I met 16-year-old Ghalia with her 20-year-old husband Omar.
This was their new house. A pretty young girl she was married one week after
meeting her husband in Zaatari camp. It was her decision to marry him and not her
father. He did agree with her choice but it was not a forced marriage like
many. In Syria it is legal for girls to get married at age 15. Also, in Jordan
it is forbidden unless in special circumstances and requires a Judge’s ruling.
Ghalia wants to become a mother – she has already had two miscarriages and has
no interest in going to school.
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Everyday life in the dusty street of Champs Elysees - the main commercial street in Zaatari camp
where small shops are selling vegetables, basic household equipment, jewelry, cell
phones, SIM cards, clothes including wedding dresses among others.
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Going for a strolling on the “”Champs
Elysees” – on the main street in Zaatari camp you notice the increasing number
of small shops selling vegetables, basic household equipment, jewelry, cell
phones, SIM cards, clothes including wedding dresses among others. Coffee shops
are available where shisha can be smoked. As time goes by life seems normal
here in the camp; more permanent structures, better organized and offering more
services. There is even a supermarket where they can buy whatever they would
like with money or with coupons – their monthly allowance. They seem settled and
they are developing a feeling of community with more respect and consideration for
each other. There is a general desire to go back home but they are aware it is
not going to be any time soon.
While the world’s attention
is concentrated on Zaatari camp, the biggest problem facing the Syrian refugees
are in the cities and towns of the host nations where 80% of them are living. In Jordan alone, there are 450,000 registered
urban refugees, and they are everywhere.
The socioeconomic effects of
the conflict as it enters its 4th year are devastating. The
generosity of the Jordanian government is enormous but the large number of
people in need is causing serious problems for Jordanian society - high
unemployment, rising rents and the draining of the education and health systems
since the arrival of the refugees. Jordanians
are resenting their country’s openness with the Syrians. Since their arrival it
has become even more difficult for them to find a job, and wages are decreasing
because Syrians are willing to take work for less money. As a result tensions
are building over work conditions.
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Lost everything with the war. She is being living in Jordan
with her family for one and half years. She is teaching English twice a week at
the Women’s Center in Irbid, Jordan and she hopes to go back home in one day.
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Housing rents are going up
very fast as a result of higher demand. Syrian families are sharing apartments
to be able to pay the bills. Public schools are overcrowded as well as clinics
and hospitals. Tensions between refugees and host nations are rising.
The great majority of
refugees prefer to live in the cities because of the more options and better living
conditions. Families with children prefer the public schools to the ones
provided by the UNICEF in the camps. Under Jordanian law they cannot work and
it is very difficult and costly to get a work permit, but a lot refugees work
anyway. The latest UNHCR urban refugees report shows a “trend of self-reliance”.
In Amman for example, the survey showed 30% of the refugees’ income coming from
work”. UNHCR and other organizations are providing some financial help but it
barely covers the rent.
In Amman’s city center there
is this great hotel packed with foreigners on holiday. They are completely
oblivious to the Syrian refugee situation. They do not even notice that the men
and women cooking, serving and cleaning are Syrian refugees. They just know
enough English to get by with the hotel guests, and they blend-in very well.
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14 years old young Syrian refugee wants to become a lawyer
to fight for women’s right.
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Budoor is a 25-year-old
mother of three. She fled Damascus five months ago with her kids and husband
Saleh. They first went to Lebanon but they couldn’t cope with the unbearable
situation over there. They came to Amman where she found a job cooking and cleaning
at the hotel. She works long hours, seven days a week, but she is happy she
said. “It is ok for me right now. We are safe here.” Her family shares a
two-bedroom apartment across from her job with another family friend also from
Syria. Her oldest son is 6 years old and he doesn’t go to school. “Yes we want to go back home but for the time
being life is ok here in Amman”.
During my visit to Irbid, a one
hour drive from Amman, I had the opportunity to visit the women’s center run by
the International Rescue Committee and a psychologist who works with victims of
war trauma, gender related violence among others. Refugees receive a 2-½ month
group session and can participate in various recreational activities such as
sewing, crochet, English classes and more.
The center has had a positive impact on the lives of these women. They
empower them in preparation for their new lives and help them cope emotionally.
Irbid is where I met
Narymman. A 35-year-old woman living in Irbid for 11 months with her 40-year -old
husband Ali, who lost his hearing when a rocket landed on their house in
Damascus. They lost everything. They tried to cross the border officially with
their passports but it was closed. They had to cross it any way, and ended up
in Zaatari where they stayed just for a few days. She did not want to live in
the camp because after the rocket destroyed her house, her son developed
respiratory complications as a result of the dust it created and Zaatari is not
the place to be if you cannot breath properly. Also she wants more than
anything for her children to attend school. She cannot work and her husband
cannot hear anymore. He picks cans and
bottles on the streets for money. She is
in the cash assistance program of IRC and is barely surviving. She doesn’t know
what to do…she just cries. The center has provided the psychological support
she needs to have hope for a better future where her children can get an
education and for her husband to be able to hear them again.
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On the right, a Syria refugee from Damascus who lost
everything. She is receiving treatment at the Women’s Center in Irbid, as a
result of all the distress and forced dislocation caused by the brutal civil
war.
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At Jordan’s Women Center in
the city in Irbid I met a 17-year-old girl from Damascus, Sham. She has being
living in the country for 2 and half years. At age 15 she was forced to be
engaged to a man she did not like. She had to battle against her family and the
Syrian tradition of early marriage. After two years attending the center and
under the protection of the program she learned that it is not necessary for
her to get married at such young age. However,
Sham has not attended school since she arrived in Jordan.
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| A Syrian refugee lay in a hospital bed in Amman, Jordan. Her car was attacked by the regime and she suffered several injuries |
Without any sign of an
agreement between Bashar al-Assad and the opposition, and with the inability of
the international community to help end this conflict, it is expected by the
end of 2014 the number of Syrian refugees will reach 4 million. Another camp is
opening at the end of April to accommodate the thousands of people that keep
crossing the border.
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8 years old girl lost her right leg after a tank shell
landed in her house in Deraa. She is been receiving treatment for over six
months and is waiting to receive a prosthetic leg.
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For more photos please go to Foto Visura: http://www.fotovisura.com/user/05051965/view/syrian-refugees
Private Photojournalism: http://privatephotojournalism.com/2014/05/the-aftermath-of-war-through-the-experiences-of-children/
The Globalist: http://www.theglobalist.com/outside-war-syrias-women-and-children-carry-on-abroad/
