Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 3 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 5/26/13  

Jordan to Host "World's Largest Refugee Camp"

By       (Page 3 of 4 pages) Become a premium member to see this article and all articles as one long page.   1 comment

Dahr Jamail
Message Dahr Jamail
"Second, it should not also be part of general policies aimed towards fueling this civil war in Syria. Third, it should work more positively towards creating a peaceful platform to reach a peaceful settlement for the Syrian crisis, and not leave it like this -- draining the country into partitioning it or killing and destroying everything there, which is happening now."

But as things are now, Kamhawi, like many other analysts, doesn't see any of these solutions coming to pass. Kamhawi sees the conflict in Syria as what could be a pre-cursor for a later attack against Iran...

"Why did the Americans want to change Assad? He was a good partner with the Israelis. The Golan Heights, it was quiet for 40 years. But I think that the US could not attack Iran directly, so I think they want to dismantle the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah alliance that is helping Iran, and by doing so they think Iran will be isolated. For every major event that happens in this region, one must always look towards Israel for the reason."
"So it's a proxy war, in preparation for a bigger war against Iran," he continued. "They [Israel and the West] are reorganizing the region. Not to forget the immense  discovery of gas  in the Mediterranean off the Syrian, Palestinian, and Lebanese coasts. So this area is gaining more strategic importance than anytime before."

Meanwhile, the violence in Syria continues each day, and the refugees continue to flow into Jordan.

Helping children

--
Copyrighted Image? DMCA

Save the Children runs programs to help thousands of Syrian children each day (Dahr Jamail/Al Jazeera)

Most of the world's major refugee NGOs and organizations now operate in the ever-expanding Zaatari camp.

While the crisis is at present overwhelming, one of the few silver linings can be found in some of the programs run by Save the Children.

"We have classrooms for the kids, and we assist via psycho-social support for kids through the parents," Save the Children's Dima Hunaiti told Al Jazeera. "We help teach the parents how to deal with their children under these traumatic circumstances."

The NGO currently serves roughly 3,300 children daily across their facilities here, and offers children a safe environment to spend time, learn, play, and express their feelings.

However, even Hunaiti would be quick to admit that more needs to be done, given that estimates show that, of the approximately 160,000 total refugees in the camp, at least 60 per cent of them are under the age of 18.


A Syrian girl draws in a Save the Children program. The script under the crying eyes reads "Syria" (Dahr Jamail/Al Jazeera)

"We were the first here at the camp," she added. "We hire Syrian refugees to work in the kindergarten, as guards, and in our multi-activity centres. All this is good, yet the camp still needs more water, and better solutions for the latrines and washrooms. These are ongoing issues."

One of the Syrian volunteers, who asked to be referred to as "Maher," told Al Jazeera that he was grateful for the opportunity to work with the NGO.

"I was in a very bad psychological situation before," he said. "But this has helped my mood. But it's difficult to see the kids who are often so tired, because they are always busy hauling water for their families."

And, daily, more families and children are coming into the camp, desperate for assistance and support.

Ongoing suffering

The stories refugees are telling of what was happening in Syria when they fled have many similarities.

"We ran from the random shelling," 39-year-old Ali told Al Jazeera. He and his family, from southern Syria, left their farm when the fighting broke out around them.


At least 60 percent of Zaatari camp residents are under 18 (Dahr Jamail/Al Jazeera)

"We've been here six months now, and all we want to do is have security and to be able to go back to our homes."

Most refugees were asking for more water, more food, and solutions to the hygiene problems and water-borne disease problems within the camp.

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3  |  4

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Must Read 1   Well Said 1   Valuable 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

Dahr Jamail Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

DAHR JAMAIL He is author of the book Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq. Jamailà ??s work has been featured on National Public Radio, the Guardian, The Nation, and The Progressive. He has received many (more...)
 
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEdNews Newsletter

Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Gulf ecosystem in crisis after BP spill

Destruction along the Gulf. How Has it Come to This?

Uncovering the Lies That Are Sinking the Oil

Evidence Mounts of BP Spraying Toxic Dispersants

Pondering Derrick Jensen/Life vs. Productivity: "What Would You Live and Die to Protect?"

We're Looking at the End of Humanity -- And It Might Happen Sooner Than You Think

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend