Ibrahim studied Arabic back at a university in Syria at day, and dreamt of leaving his village and following in the footsteps of his older brother — a graduate as a lawyer — at night, hoping to provide a better life for his young family.
He’s now forced to put his dream on hold after the Syrian conflict — which the UN estimates has left 6.5 million people displaced inside Syria and more than 9 million in need of assistance — made his commute too dangerous for him to keep attending university.
Fatima carries her twin 15-months old boys, Muhanad and Hamad, into her new temporary home, Transitional Shelter, in Azraq provided by NRC. Around 5,000 shelters are now in place in Azraq, which could up to 30,000 refugees.
Like more than 2.5 million Syrian refugees now in the region, Ibrahim and Fatima were forced to flee Syria when they could no longer provide safety for their young sons, Muhannad and Hamad.
Even as the conflict rages on for its third year, they did not want to leave their home and friends but had no choice, leaving on an all-or-nothing risky trip to Jordan, currently hosting more than 585,000 Syrian refugees. They chose Jordan as her father and some aunts, uncles and cousins are now living in Zaatari camp.
Zaatari has been in operational since July 2012 but is now close to fully capacity with some 100,000 vulnerable Syrian refugees calling it their temporary home.
Ibrahim got a contact for a driver who was willing to make the dangerous trip to the border and — like many others — having to pay a high price for this service; 18,000 Syrian pounds per person or roughly 120 US dollars (regular car service from Syrian to Jordan costs around US$15).
Late one night, they were collected along with other families in the area and put in the back of a shipping truck. Fatima described how difficult the uncertain journey was especially on the twins: “We were in a container with 28 other people travelling in the dark and then in the heat. It was hot and hard on the boys as they are so young”. Almost a day and a half later they were dropped off close to the Syrian border. They had to walk the final few kilometres on foot.
Ibrahim and Fatima were lucky to make it across the border relatively quickly where they were provided with their first hot meal in a long time by the Jordanian military. They stayed at the border for six hours until they were transported to the Raba’a al Sarhan Transit Centre and began the process of being registered as a “refugee” by UNHCR and coming to terms with their new identity.
Ibrahim, Fatima and the twins were amongst the first to be sent by UNHCR to the new Azraq camp, 100 kilometres east of the capital, Amman. Azraq’s official opening is on Wednesday, April 30, but some 430 Syrians are already living there.
NRC along with UNHCR and other humanitarian actors provides basic services on arrival and help refugees get settled into their new surroundings.
New arrivals are given information on the camp and provided with the basics — a shelter constructed by NRC for protection from the heat and harsh climate, household items like mattresses, blankets and cooking equipment and dry food stocks. NRC continues to work 24/7 in Azraq camp to support UNHCR and other camp-based partners to meet the basic protection and assistance needs of new arrivals.
However, despite the efforts of the Government of Jordan and humanitarian partners, Azraq will be difficult for Ibrahim and Fatima and the twins. No one wants to live in a refugee camp and the conditions in Azraq make it harder. They don’t know what the future holds or how long they will have to be a refugee.
Fatima’s dream is to be reunited with her other family in Jordan, even though she is happy that she and her family are finally safe.
“All I need is to speak to my father again”.
