Bad health is worse for refugees
“He is dead. He will never come back to life,” sobs Naja, 50, her face, framed by her black head covering, glistens with tears as she tells us about Mohammad, boy from the neighbourhood she raised up as a son. Mohammad died in Syria six months ago, the day after she last spoke to him.
Naja tells stories that would make stones weep. She spoke of the fear of women and girls being taken from their homes and raped and men and boys being lined up and shot.
She, her 13-year-old daughter, Nifma,,her husband, his second wife and her four children, all fled the violence of conflict in Syria. They hurried from Homs to Hama and from Hama to Damascus, moving each time the war caught up with them. Finally nine months ago they left Syria for the safety of Jordan.
They had left everything behind: their home, their possessions, even their medical care. Her husband has a hernia through which his fluid-filled abdomen bulges like a grey plastic bag the size of a melon. Treatment for his condition is not available in public hospitals in Jordan as it is in Syria. Naja has diabetes, high blood pressure and needs a knee replacement. It costs her $45 a month for the medicine she needs to keep her knee mobile enough to walk and climb the stairs to the rooftop room she shares with her daughter. Collectively the family receives $200 a month as a stipend from the United Nations’ refugee agency UNHCR as registered refugees. After rent and medicine, there is only $50 to feed and care for eight people.
Siham and Ahmed also live in the Jordanian desert town of Ma’an. Much like others, their escape from Syria was prompted by the violence arriving on their doorstep, literally. Their house was destroyed.
They too carry the extra the burden of poor health. Ahmad has liver disease and breathing difficulties caused, he says, by years of exposure to chemicals in the cement factory where he worked in Syria. The stress of not hearing from his brother since he was drafted into the army six months ago, makes his symptoms worse. Siham too is disabled, the dividend she received from years working as a cleaner. Her condition is so grave, she was forced to pass up the chance to work on the janitorial staff at a local hospital.
Their two young boys: Ahan, 7, and Yehia, 5, were both born with poorly developed lungs and problems with their tongues that needed surgery. Yehia still waits for speech therapy. The service is free but his parents don’t have the money for the taxi he needs to get there and back. They are already three months behind with their rent. It is an uncomfortable situation for them.
Maysoon is Siham’s and Ahmed’s eldest child. She was so frightened by the demolition of their home by army bulldozers that she shakes whenever she hears loud noises. Says she is bullied at school where she is the only Syrian child. The other children won’t play with her unless she gives them her pencils. At the Jordanian apartment that is now her home she has only two dresses, the rest were left behind as they were warned to travel light so as to not risk arrest.
Additionally, there are few toys to her, her bothers, and the other refugee children to play with, a thought that even makes their mother sad. “I also cried when we left the toys behind. I worked extra for money to buy them, it was such a waste of effort,” she says.
When the family reached the border between Syria and Jordan and soldiers demanded a payment of $1,000 to let them pass. Maysoon begged her parents to pay the fee and continue. Now all she thinks about is returning to her friends, her dresses, and her dolls.
Syrian refugees come to Ma’an because they have relatives there or because it is cheaper and less crowded than the capital city of Amman and the northern town of Irbid. But, nowhere in exile feels like home. There is a painful sense of separation from relatives, especially those who have disappeared or are in immediate danger. There is also a constant struggle to pay bills and not to get further into debt. Health problems on top of all this add to the cost and the worry. For Syrian refugees these are the costs to keep their children safe—costs they are willing to pay, even if they don’t know where they money will come from.
World Vision is committed to responding to the needs of children and families affected by the crisis in Syria. UNHCR estimates that there are more than 350,000 Syrian refugees currently in Jordan, more than half of whom are under 18. World vision is working with local and international organization to promote child protection and work on water, health and sanitation for those affected.