At world’s most famous refugee camp, residents hold on to hope
Nour Ali used to live peacefully with her family in Daraa in southwestern Syria. She had no plans of leaving until the Syrian Civil War broke out in 2011, prompting her to flee for a better life back in 2013, along with six other family members. Now residing at the Zaatari Refugee Camp established close to Jordan’s northern border with Syria in 2012, she has no other dream but to go back and live again with her family. Except, things are now different, since meeting her husband a year after moving to the camp and then giving birth to Mosab, her 18-monthold son.The family reside in a pre-fabricated caravan in the camp, among 80,000 other refugees.
Nour’s husband works in one of the 3,000 shop at the Zaatari’s main shopping street — somewhat incongruously but cheerfully titled “Champs Élysées” — where residents can procure everything from daily items and bicycles to wedding dresses and even canaries.
“Mosab is still young. Hopefully when he grows up, I will have a whole plan for his future,” Nour said as she carried him around in The Big Heart Foundation Clinic (TBHF), a Sharjah-based project that provides free medical and healthcare services to displaced Syrian refugees at the camp.
Mosab had fallen and hit his head earlier and she visited the clinic to get his wounds treated. Trying to contain his restless movement in her arms, Nour said she lives with her husband and their relatives. Her uncle and newlywed wife went back to Syria.
“We are provided with all kinds of services, but living in a camp remains difficult. We are exposed to piles of dust on a daily basis, which exposes us to all kinds of diseases,” she told Khaleej Times on the sidelines of a media tour organised by TBHF around the camp.
The famous Zaatari Camp, the second largest camp in the world divided into 12 districts, has developed from a small collection of tents into an urban settlement of 26,000 painted pre-fabricated caravans that is home to its multitudinous residents. But Nour is confident this won’t be their permanent settlement. When asked whether she will register her son in a school in the camp, she said, “By the time he grows up, Inshallah things will be better in Syria and we will go back.”
In the seventh year of the Syrian war, Jordan accommodates 1.4 million Syrians, among whom only 650,000 are registered with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and 250,000 have their security information recorded with Jordanian authorities.
Authorities said 17 per cent of Syrian refugees in the country reside in camps, while the remaining 83 per cent live in the cities.
About 79 per cent of the refugees staying in Zaatari camp came from Daraa, the city that was considered the cradle of the revolution after protests and the arrest of 15 boys from prominent families sparked an uprising in 2011. In 2015, the camp stopped taking in refugees when the influx of refugees increased. Travellers would instead be directed to the nearby Azraq Refugee Camp that was established in 2014.
Thanks to foreign aid and support, people at Zaatari camp are today provided with 29 schools with over 21,000 students enrolled in the Jordanian curriculum, 27 community centres that provide psychosocial support and two hospitals and nine health care centers.
Nour’s aunt Umm Adham, who was present with the small family at the clinic, said there was no way the family would have stayed in Syria. “With the destruction and constant firing, you wait for death at any given minute. It isn’t safe back home, but our hopes of going back keep us strong,” smiled Umm Adham.
How donations impacted their lives
As part of UAE’s contribution to the Syrian crisis, the TBHF clinic that started in 2015 has provided 108,000 primary medical consultations for refugees at Zaatari Camp, from July to December 2016.
Under the supervision of the Jordan Health Aid Society (JHAS), the clinic receives about 600 patients a day. Dr. Yaroup Ajlouni, President of JHAS, told the press that 80 general practitioners, nurses and employees have provided over 250,000 consultations and medical services in Zaatari camp since the launch of the clinic.
While goals were set at helping 8,000 displaced Syrian refugees, the figure achieved was 13,000, a 171 per cent increase. Reproductive healthcare more than doubled its target, with 24,500 people receiving consultations.
The TBHF has announced that Dh30 million worth of health and service projects were implemented in Jordan’s Zaatari Camp 2013-2016. According to Mariam Al Hammadi, the foundation’s director, Dh60 million worth of donations were raised ever since they started initiatives and projects to different camps around the Arab World.
“Being able to help refugees and provide that many services for them wouldn’t have happened without people’s support and donations. Thanks to them, we were able to provide people here at the camp with the healthcare they need,” said Al Hammadi, noting that the foundation tailors its health aid, education and food security through programmes that suits refugees in different areas.
The clinic at Zaatari Camp is equipped to treat issues ranging from acute and chronic conditions to ante-natal and post-natal care, in addition to providing vaccination programmes to Syrian children in the camp. Given the area’s dusty weather, asthma, flu and allergies are the most common cases the clinic faces especially as winter approaches, besides scabies and lice. “To deal with the weather, we provide refugees in the camp with health awareness programmes where they are given vaporisers to add in their caravans,” said Ajlouni. He added that caravan visits and personal consultations are provided to refugees who cannot make it to the clinic due to illnesses.
“In case of emergencies and severe cases like open heart surgeries, major injuries, electric shocks and scorpion stings, patients are transferred to relevant hospitals outside the camp with paramedic services. Treatment costs are covered by the clinic,” said Ajlouni. He added that the clinic’s medical professionals have access to 17 private hospitals and three nearby hospitals signed under the Ministry of Health.
A separate Obstetrics & Gynecology centre under the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) supervision witnessed 7,400 birth cases since the camp was launched five years ago. Operated by nurses and medical professionals, Ajlouni said no casualties at birth have been recorded until now.
We are provided with all kinds of services, but living in a camp remains difficult. We are exposed to piles of dust on a daily basis, which exposes us to all kinds of diseases. By the time my son grows up, Inshallah, things will be better in Syria and we will go back.” Nour Ali, Zaatari camp resident
We had to leave Syria but I still need to make money to take care of my children. There’s no stability in Syria, I’m not looking to go back. I’d love to travel and find somewhere we can find stability in and start over.” Osama Hariri, Zaatari camp resident
Being able to help refugees and provide that many services for them wouldn’t have happened without people’s support and donations. Thanks to them, we were able to provide people here at the camp with the healthcare they need.” Mariam Al Hammadi, director, the Big Heart Foundation
Currently, medical treatment costs are covered by the camp clinic. We pray to god that people don’t lose hope and continue to contribute to the cause. It is only with donations that everything we are currently doing is possible. Dr Yaroup Ajlouni, President of Jordan Health Aid Socieyt
Camp life is only temporary
Osama Hariri came to the Zaatari camp from Daraa in 2013, along with his wife and four children. Back home, he had a house and owned a restaurant. After arriving at Zaatari, he opened his own bakery on the Champs Élysées street.
He sells his Tannour bread for six piastres. “We had to leave but I still need to make money to take care of my children,” said Hariri. His children are aged 20, 18, 12 and six. While two of them go to school in the camp, the other two work with him in the shop. “There’s no stability in Syria, I’m not looking to go back. I’d love to travel and find somewhere we can find stability in and start over,” he said.
Maeve Murphy, Senior Operation Manager at UNHCR, said 46,000 refugees have received work permits to work outside the camp. Starting next week, the camp will offer more work permits through an employment office that will operate inside the camp.
Currently, refugees are allowed to leave the camp for family visits, shopping errands or medical consultations and return with an official permit. Colonel Mohannad Al Shareida, Zaatari Camp’s director, said hundreds of farmers or people who work in surrounding areas outside the camps require no permits. He confirmed that the security situation is stable and that no major crimes are reported in the camp.
“The most common cases are domestic violence and fights between neighbours. A police centre, civil defence department and family protection unit help deal with all security issues,” said Al Shareida. Murphy said, “Nobody is considering the camp as a permanent settlement. They would prefer to be free, to not have to apply for leave and work permits; they want to be with their own families and communities. They still live in a camp that faces funding shortages and the levels of support changes over time and has changed.” The caravans, said Murphy, were results of donations given from countries like the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The UNHCR conducts visits around the camp, making a list of the most vulnerable families and putting them down on a waiting list for cash assistance. Murphy said life is even tougher for refugees outside the camp, since 93 per cent of them live below the poverty line.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com