Business as usual in refugee camp
ZAATARI REFUGEE CAMP, Jordan: A booming market selling goods from spices to electronics has sprung up in a desolate desert camp where Syrian refugees are trying to survive the war tearing their country apart.
In this 7km² camp, many of the more than 62 000 Syrian refugees, who live on charity handouts and meagre savings, have turned their tents into restaurants, bakeries, groceries and barber shops.
Other refugees sell cellphones, satellite receivers and clothes, braving tough living conditions but breathing new life into the six-month-old desert camp, 15km from the city of Mafraq.
“My friend was the first to turn a tent into a coffee shop months ago. I bought it from him for 270 dinars (R3 000) when he returned to Syria,” Mohammad, 28, said, as he served his customers.
“People come here to smoke water pipes and drink coffee and tea, trying to kill time and forget their misery. At the same time I make some money. It is not bad, thank God.”
Some shops in Zaatari carry names like “The Revolution” and “Freedom”, inspired by Syri’s anti-regime uprising which started in March 2011 and has claimed at least 60 000 lives, according to the UN.
“Today I am selling vegetables. Sometimes I sell fruit,” Wael Jaber, 26, said as he sat in his tent near crates of tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes and onions.
“I had to do something to spend my time and earn some money,” said Jaber, who fled his village south of Damascus two months ago.
“No one likes to live in this miserable place, but there was no other choice. I could not just sit and wait for the unknown.”
Since the camp opened in July, there have been several protests by refugees about poor living conditions, including a lack of electricity. But such conditions do not prevent children from working to support their families.
“I sell smuggled cigarettes from Syria,” Diab, 12, said as he carried a box filled with a number of brands.
“I stopped going to school because it was useless. My father doesn’t work and I want to make money. Today I have earned 1 000 Syrian pounds,” the boy said, giving a figure that translates into about R120. He said his 16-year-old brother worked in the same business.
Hundreds of Syrians a day cross the border into Jordan.
Anmar Hmud, a government spokesman for Syrian refugee affairs, said on Sunday that since January 1, about 8 835 people had fled to the kingdom.
“There is a randomness to these camp businesses, as well as violations of the law and child labour problems. But such issues will be organised in time,” Hmud said.
“Many of the refugees are selling things provided to them by charities.”
Nevertheless, these shops have made a difference to the lives of many refugees.
“The market at the camp amuses me,” said Bashir Suleiman, a government em- ployee from Damascus who fled Syria with his family three months ago.
“I spend most of my time walking around, looking at the shops and what they sell as well as at the shoppers.
“It reminds me in a way of the busy streets of Damascus, which sometimes makes me sad. But no doubt these shops are breathing new life into this desert camp.”