A woman takes her child to a specialist medical clinic

A 26 year old man called Abdul Rahman Mohammed Mahmoud who fled bombing carried out by the Assad regime in his native city Daraa stands in a corner of the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, eagerly awaiting the arrival of his newborn child. He hopes that this child will provide some joy after the sorrow that he feels at losing his son, aged 4, to a disease that afflicted him whilst they were travelling to Jordan. Abdul Rahman, who was waiting for a media delegation which included Asharq Al-Awsat said that “the regime forces have tortured us in a variety of ways ranging from physical abuse to removing our nails because of our participation in the revolution”.

In another corner, Umm Ghani narrates the story of her journey to Jordan. She says “I escaped during the revolution that broke out in Daraa and I moved around from province to province accompanied by a group of displaced people until we got to Jordan”. She added that attempts to escape the oppression of the regime lasted five months. Sources at the camp say that a large number of families that sought refuge at the Zaatari camp are provided for by women.

The Public Information and Communications officer at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Mohammed Abu Asaker said that the shelter provided by the “Saudi campaign to support the Syrians” at the Zaatari refugee camp fulfils the conditions to provide a safe and good shelter where occupants are protected from heat waves and bitter cold, in addition to protection from rainwater which pours down intensely at certain times of the year.