The numbers are so daunting that you can’t imagine the strain on a single country to be taking in so many refugees in such a short period of time. In the last week we have been getting in over 3,000 Syrian refugees a day- the number used to be 700. The fighting is increasing in Syria and numbers in Jordan are rising. Jordan is a poor country that doesn’t have all the resources it needs for his current population and with an increase of almost a million refugees the water supplies will not last. Really so much needs to be done by the international community. It is not just the money and supplies, but the re education of the people and especially the children, who everyone states are the most vulnerable. The Zaatari camp has over 20,000.
The kids are behind in their schooling. Our group went to visit the Jordanian Womens Union and they do not get funded by any governmental agency only private. She was telling us that the women come to her for help with their children and also with their own needs for the family. The kids are going to school – government schools, but the kids are separated from the Jordanian children 7am till 12 for the Jordanian and then 1-5 for the Syrian. This is not healthy in that they should be taught together and not left out like there are stranger. The children need to talk about their problems.
The Syrian children have not been given vaccinines, Jordan is offering them for free right now but we need the families to understand why this is needed for the children.
To see these women that are so young – ages of 15 -and older that are pregnant with their second child and have no means to support. These are what we call the Urban Refugees- they are living outside the camps and do not get rations or help with their food, rent until they get into an organization or a group finds out about them. You see whole neighborhoods of people from the same area living from Syria and now living together in one room or a couple of rooms, that are not clean, not heated and lots of mold where the children will be sick always.
One of the doctors that was with our team had seem a family from Homs , he said that he thought there were chemical weapons or some type of gases that were used in the area. Families from the same area had these deep wounds in their backs that was eating at the flesh. One child had died at the age of 8 months, the other from a different family, but from the same area had a similar condition and was going to die soon at 1 year and then a third and these were just people we saw at a clinic by accident. He is going to do some research , since it did not come out in the news that chemicals were being used till recently, but it looks as if this was being done over a year ago.
She day I come back home I am drained from what I have seen- I never imagined that it would be at this extent. I think a lot of our group was thinking the same thing. It is unending suffering for so many people, so many lost hopes and dreams. But at the same time so many brave souls that want to go back and try to rebuild their country a people so proud
Leave a Reply