Witnesses to war: The shattered lives of Zaatari's children
"They saw death, explosions, shelling. It is difficult to deal with the children because they are difficult psychologically"
By Nicholas Petche in Zaatari, Jordan | Yahoo News – 10 hours ago- Yahoo News - Asil, 10, holds up a picture she drew of her family home being shelled by a government tank. Her mother explains the significance of the moon and sky. Her children wanted to go on the balcony but
Her shy, endearing smile and gentle manner belie the horrors Asil has witnessed by the age of 8.
It is only as her mother Nour explains the significance of the drawings she has sketched while we are talking that one realizes how deeply those horrors are buried within her.
In one, the lone figure on a balcony is Asil herself - two years previously - looking up at the moon and stars and drinking in the cool night air.
However, her mother had forbidden her children from going out for fear of them being shot at by snipers and was forced to put up thick blankets to prevent any light seeping out from within.
It is only as her mother Nour explains the significance of the drawings she has sketched while we are talking that one realizes how deeply those horrors are buried within her.
In one, the lone figure on a balcony is Asil herself - two years previously - looking up at the moon and stars and drinking in the cool night air.
However, her mother had forbidden her children from going out for fear of them being shot at by snipers and was forced to put up thick blankets to prevent any light seeping out from within.
The tanks and soldiers destroying the family home was the point at which the family finally fled for the safety of Jordan.
Another drawing shows gunmen shooting at her father in his car and a sniper targeting children going to buy sweets at a corner shop close to their home. Thankfully, her father survived the attack.But her traumatic memories are not an isolated case.
The Syrian crisis – which has claimed the lives of 100,000 people so far – has been termed a ‘children’s crisis’ by aid workers. Half of the 2million people who have left the country are children. Zaatari is no different - 60,000 of its 120,000 population are under 18.
Many have been close to death, either seeing it first hand or hearing of friends and family being killed.
It is not uncommon to hear adults say that if it was just them, they would have stayed in their towns and villages.
But hearing grim accounts of youngsters having their throats cut and the terror of their children being killed forced them to leave Syria. As if further illustration were necessary, they make the motion of a hand moving across the throat when talking to you.
‘It is because of the children that people come,’ said a teacher and father of two. ‘If I was alone I would have stayed.’
‘I did not want to come to the camp. I heard a lot of bad things.’
‘I was in the street [in his home town] and I hear missiles and I got to hide. I said if I survive I will go to the camp. People said there [in the camp] you will live life like a dog.’
Violence, lack of privacy and the stress of living without basic facilities are just some of the problems faced by refugees in camps, says William Hopkins, a consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist for the charity Freedom From Torture.
‘They also have to deal with a loss of role. They no longer can be the parent who can provide for or support their family, they’ve lost their job, lost their money. They can feel undermined and inferior and can’t get the things they need for their children.’
Lack of privacy is a sensitive issue in the camp: many refugees are housed in five-man tents and are reliant on communal toilets and cooking areas.
As regards education, in Zaatari there are currently three schools run by UNICEF and Jordan's Ministry of Education catering for children from primary to secondary age as well as 43 of fenced off ‘safe spaces’ also provided by UNICEF and aid agencies such as Save The Children. The schools have places for only 15,000 youngsters - half of the 30,000 school age children.
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