Ten years of conflict. Ten refugee experiences.

Khaled  

“In the past, we could not afford canned food to feed the kids.” 

 

In 2013, Khaled, 38, and his wife, 32, fled from Aleppo to Jordan to protect their children from war.  

 When they reached Jordan, their only belongings were the clothes they were wearing. Khaled was soon able to find a job, but the living conditions in the apartment they rented were difficult, as the family could not afford more than the rent. They applied for cash assistance from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in 2014, and their lives started changing for the better. “Thanks to God, we are doing much better” says Khaled’s wife, “in the past, we could not afford canned food to feed the kids.” Now, each family member receives monthly assistance worth JOD 24 to cover their food needs. 

Things were going well until the outbreak of COVID-19, but then Khaled lost his job, “expenses started piling up, and now I can’t pay my bills.” Since the pandemic, 82% of refugee households in Jordan have reported reduced income, and even after the lockdown was lifted, Khaled, like many other refugees, hasn’t been able to find a job. Once again he is worried about putting food on the table; 63% of refugee households are now considered vulnerable to food insecurity. 

Khaled’s family hope to be resettled to a third country to give their children a chance at a better education.

“Honestly, I do not wish to return to Syria. Our house has been completely destroyed, there’s nothing for us to return to except for painful memories.” Their only wish is to find a place where they can raise their kids in peace and give the best education. 

Amal 

“While I’m creating, I don’t think about all the other problems in my life.” 

Amal, 33, left her home in Daraa, Syria, when fighting first broke out at the beginning of the conflict. “I had just graduated from art college. I wanted to become an artist, open my own store where I could sell my work, but we had to leave, and our lives completely changed.”  

Since finding safety in Jordan, however, she has got married and had a son, Yousef, 4. Shortly after Yousef was born, Amal was contacted by SEP, a social enterprise project set up in 2013 to support refugees in Jordan through training and employment. “Being a part of this project has changed how I think. Doing the work and the embroidery gives my mind something else to focus on. While I’m creating, I don’t think about all the other problems in my life. It’s made me learn so many things about myself, how to be patient, how to be determined. It’s given me hope.”  

After first taking classes in embroidery at the SEP-Tamari Foundation Academy in Jerash, Amal became one of almost 500 women who work as part of the project. “My favourite part is that it allows me to be creative, to draw upon what I studied and learnt back in Syria.”  

Amal describes how being a member of the SEP community has given her freedom that she never thought possible. “I would love to get to a stage when I have enough income from the project to be able to depend on myself. I want to be able to support Yousef do whatever he wants to do.”  

Haifa  

“I believe everyone is a potential leader. We all have a role to play in supporting and lifting others.” 

In 2014, Haifa, 33, travelled from Syria to Jordan alone with her six children, to reunite with her husband. “The beginning our new life was not easy; soon my husband started to hit me. I wanted to get a divorce, but this would have meant leaving my children behind. I decided to stay and, shortly after, my husband remarried and moved out, leaving us with no means of support.” 

With no education or previous work experience, Haifa set out to find work to support her family. She knew the basics of tailoring and tried to improve her skills by attending trainings in the camp, in the hope to earn a sustainable income, but opportunities were limited. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Haifa says “everything collapsed for me. Trapped all day in my caravan, I began feeling very depressed and sick all the time.” 

In July 2020, she was referred to the UN Women’s Oasis Centre, a programme aimed at building women’s resilience and empowerment through access to sustainable livelihood opportunities. She was appointed as a tailoring supervisor and master cutter, and while she was hesitant to take on such responsibility at first, with the support of the Centre, she was able to realise her potential as a community leader. “I believe everyone is a potential leader. We all have a role to play in supporting and lifting others. Now I feel strong, I’m ready to face any challenge.”

Asma  

“I was about to lose my youngest boy because of an airstrike, and we clearly saw it was not home as we know it anymore.” 

Asma, her husband and their three children, fled from Syria to Jordan in July 2012.  

Before the war, the family were “living their best life”: they had a house they called home, good health, and the children had normal childhood dreams like all their peers. “Looking for security and safety was the reason we fled Syria, I almost lost my youngest boy because of an airstrike, it was clear that this was not home as we know it anymore” says Asma.  

When the family reached Jordan, they stayed with Asma’s sister in Irbid for a year before renting a place in Eastern Amman. Asma’s 70-year-old mother was unable to join them. “It is heart-breaking to know that we cannot do anything to support her. I wish our family could reunite one day” Asma says with overwhelming sadness. 

Due to a herniated disc, Asma’s husband Mohammed, who used to work as a painter, could no longer work, so when they arrived in Jordan, UNRWA provided the family with cash assistance, health and education services, and psychosocial support. These services enable Asma and her family to continue their lives and meet their essential needs. UNRWA supports over 17,000 Palestine refugees from Syria who have fled to Jordan in search of peace and security.  

Ahmad  

“The pandemic has been really hard on everyone, especially in the camp; there are barely any jobs, my children are out of school, and we’re afraid for our health.” 

 Ahmad, 44, a Syrian refugee from Daraa, sought refuge in Jordan in 2013, with his wife and one-year-old son, Omar. “It was not an easy decision, but I had to make it after seeing the fear in Omar’s eyes when bombs were falling.”  

 Upon arriving to Jordan, the family stayed in Zaatari camp, and moved to Zarqa city soon after. They were able to make ends meet with their savings and jobs they were able to take on: Ahmad as a daily worker in construction or woodwork and his wife in hair salons.  

Having since moved to Azraq Camp and had a second son, Ahmed feels thee pressure to provide for his family. 

Especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, work opportunities have become scarce. “The pandemic has been really hard on everyone, especially in the camp; there are barely any jobs, my children are out of school, and we’re afraid for our health.” Ahmad is grateful for the monthly assistance of JOD 92 from WFP but explains that during these difficult times, it’s simply not enough. Like 52% of refugees, Ahmad has had to limit his own food intake to prioritise that of his children and has also accumulated JOD 450 debt. “Having a job will help us provide for ourselves and our children”, says Ahmad in hope of some stability during such difficult times.  

Kawthar 

“I consider myself a lucky and happy girl, because I have a mom and a dad.” 

 At 10 years old, Kawthar is as old as the Syrian conflict. She says she doesn’t remember her home but regularly talks to relatives who still live there, “My uncles and grandparents still live there, I am always scared for them. But when I talk to them, I feel happy because they usually spoil me and give me happy nicknames.” 

Kawthar’s father works in construction, but the opportunities are limited, and the family is struggling. “I don’t have toys, but it’s ok, because I am all grown up now and I don’t need toys anymore. I play with my younger siblings a lot,” she says. As the eldest child of her family, she takes care of her siblings and tells them stories. 

When she’s not in school, Kawthar spends time in UNICEF’s Makani centres, where she learns Arabic, English, mathematics. “I became better at these subjects ever since I started attending the sessions here.” She dreams of becoming a judge, to see a more just world. 

Kawthar’s hope is to be able to travel to different places, and maybe Syria, when it’s safe. “We can’t go back, because it’s dangerous, I fear for my father more than I fear for myself, because it’s more dangerous for adults than us children to be there.” But for now, she’s grateful for her family, “I consider myself a lucky and happy girl, because I have a mom and a dad, some children don’t have parents and others are homeless.” 

Ammar  

“I want to start my own company but it’s difficult to know where to begin.”  

At 25 years old, Ammar has spent the majority of his youth as a refugee. After fleeing his home in rural Damascus in 2013, he completed high school in Jordan before being awarded a DAFI scholarship to study computer science at Zarqa university. Although Ammar says he initially wanted to study dentistry, two years after graduating he appreciates the opportunities a computer science degree has afforded him. A skilled Android app developer, he has worked two short-term contracts with Jordanian technology companies since he graduated but due to the COVID-19 pandemic is currently unemployed. 

“COVID-19 has had a huge impact. I haven’t been able to find any work. I had recently rented a new apartment but now I don’t know how I’m supposed to afford the rent.” 

Ammar’s current dream is to start a company which provides vocational training to newly graduated youth like himself in order to bridge the gap between the skills they teach at school and what is required in the job market. Inspired by hiss down experiences, Ammar says that the majority of his friends – Syrians as well as Jordanians – are currently unemployed.  

From selling vegetables at the side of the road to helping out in his father’s restaurant back in Syria, Ammar has always had an entrepreneurial spirit and hopes that even if he isn’t able to return home to Syria for the next ten years, that he will be able to realize his dreams in Jordan.  

“At the moment, I’m just sat at home but I’m always thinking two or three years into the future. The conflict taught me that we can only depend on ourselves. 

Soheir  

“I am very happy to have joined the project and to live in Rihab, as I don’t feel alienated while I am in Jordan.” 

After fleeing her home in Daraa, Syria, Soheir is now helping safeguard Jordan’s cultural heritage.  

An active member of her community in Rihab, Soheir has been living in northern Jordan since the beginning of the Syrian crisis  when a shell hit their house, causing her a minor injury and destroying the along with the electronics store her family owned alongside it.  

Soheir recently joined a UNESCO cash-for-work project which provides employment opportunities for cultural heritage safeguarding in Jordan. She says that joining the project has helped her gain valuable experience, while also helping her cover her living expenses. Moving forward, Soheir wants to use what she has learned about ancient mosaics restoration to create industrial mosaic panels that she could then sell over social media. 

Soheir is happy in Jordan and is grateful for the welcome and good treatment she has received, the country’s traditions, and the safe living conditions. 

Mohammad  

“One must never let failure stop him from achieving greatness”, says Mohammad, 25, a young Syrian refugee who paved his way to success.  

After the war erupted in Syria, Mohammad moved to Jordan with his family in 2013.  Six years later, in 2019, he started his studying business and enrolled in a vocational training programme run by UNESCO. 

During his studies, Mohammad started to develop initiatives to support other refugees in Jordan such as an e-learning platform he launched during the past year targeting youth living in refugee camps, providing them with relevant skills in business, digital marketing, and self-development. Further to that, he has volunteered at several organisations to support youth empowerment programmes across the country.  

In 2020, Mohammad successfully completed his studies and got his internationally accredited BTEC certificate in Business Discipline. 

Laila  

“I ask my father when we will be able to go back to Syria… he tells me that we will one day, when war is over.” 

Laila, 10, and her family left their home in Homs, Syria, when Laila was just one year old. She doesn’t remember it now, but says her father speaks of how beautiful Homs was. “Syria is my country, the place where I was born.”  

Laila and her family have lived in Zaatari camp since they arrived in Jordan. She says she loves going to school and is sad that she wasn’t able to go to school over the past year, due to COVID-19. “I really miss my friends and especially my teacher, because she teaches me about everything, she teaches me about science, Arabic, English, and mathematics.”  

Laila dreams of becoming an astronaut and speaks passionately about space, the planet system, her favourite planets. “My favourite planet by far is Earth, because we all live on it, and it has the air that we breath, the water that we drink, but we have to take care of it more.”  

Even though she has no memories of Syria, Laila’s hope to one day go back remains. “I ask my father when we will be able to go back to Syria and see my grandparents, and he tells me that we will one day, when war is over and when there is no fear of the coronavirus.” 

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