JORDAN: Syrian families living in a Jordanian refugee camp mark the third anniversary of the Syrian revolution with a mixture of hope and despair

Record ID: 274531

  • Title: JORDAN: Syrian families living in a Jordanian refugee camp mark the third anniversary of the Syrian revolution with a mixture of hope and despair
  • Date: 13th March 2014
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF YOUNG SYRIAN REFUGEES LIGHTING CANDLES IN PAPER BAGS
  • Embargoed: 28th March 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Jordan
  • Country: Jordan
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,People
  • Reuters ID: LVA7SUI6JX2IO1PR3SXZ2WTX0D63
  • Story Text: Refugees living in the Zaatari camp near Mafraq in Jordan marked the third anniversary of the Syrian crisis on Thursday (March 13), with a mixture of hope and despair.
    Jordan is one of Syria's four immediate neighbours, and along with Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq, was inundated with refugees fleeing the ongoing civil war.
    Jordan now hosts close to 600,000 Syrian refugees.
    A large number of those who seek refuge in Jordan are transported to the Zaatari, which is home to around 130,000 Syrian refugees.
    Many other refugees have settled in local communities.
    Jordanian authorities are struggling to keep up with the increasing needs of the camp's residents and only a fraction of the hundreds of millions of dollars of international aid pledged to help the Syrian refugees has arrived.
    Heavy rain and difficult weather conditions have created many challenges for those living in the camp.
    Many tents and caravans are flooded with water.

    "With the heavy rain that has been falling over the past two days, most of the tents here have flooded. There is no sewage system that can drain the water, so all the tents have flooded. Even the caravans that are 20 cm high off the ground, are filled with water," said Syrian refugee Mohammed Husein.
    In another part of the camp, 100 young refugees marked the 3rd anniversary of the Syrian crisis with candlelit vigils, and the release of red balloons, inspired by Banksy the renegade graffiti artist, carrying messages of hope to Syrians.
    This event is held in unison with vigils in more than 40 countries.
    Nelson's Column in London, the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, the Sydney Opera House and the Eiffel Tower in Paris were to be lit up in support.
    The event also marks the launch of the 'With Syria' campaign, in which 115 humanitarian and human rights groups join forces in demanding immediate action to ensure Syrians in need, including civilians in areas under siege, can access aid.

    "This is the 'With Syria' campaign and right now we've got events going on in New York, in Paris, in London. And the unique thing about this event is that this is the opportunity for children of Zaatari, Syrian children of Zaatari camp, to be able to commemorate this sad day, the third anniversary of the uprising," said Roger Hearn, the regional Director of Save the children.
    The Global Campaign Manager with Oxfam Camilla Mosse said many refugees fear they'll never be able to return home,
    "In the run up to the third anniversary of the Syria crisis, Oxfam has been talking to refugees about their hopes for the future, and a survey we conducted showed that 65 percent of the refugees in Jordan that we spoke to fear they'll never see their country again, and they're really concerned they won't be able to go home," she said.
    Syria's uprising against four decades of rule by the family of President Bashar al-Assad has turned into an increasingly sectarian civil war that has killed more than 100,000 people, displaced 6.5 million inside Syria and forced 2.5 million more to find sanctuary outside its borders.
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