Syria’s future - its refugee kids
More than 800,000 kids have fled their homeland. Many are still in shock from the atrocities they witnessed. But they are so much more resilient than adults - if they are helped, hugged and nurtured forward. This is one family I met in Mount Lebanon that gives me hope.
This is their new home in exile they found and fixed up after they left embattled Idlib one year ago. High up in the hills of Mount Lebanon in a Christian neighborhood, the view over the distant sea and the breeze offer some solace. But they have only two rooms for a family of seven. One room serves as the living room by day, and bedroom at night where the mattresses stacked in the kitchen are distributed. The father was out doing day labor - anything that will help pay their $150 rent. Like most Syrian refugees here, they struggle with savings dried up and high living expenses. “The wages for Syrians went down, but the rents went up,” his wife, pictured right, told me. They use WFP food vouchers to purchase nutritious, simple food and try to recreate the comfort of a good meal. Here is their eldest son, Faisal, 10, presiding over lunch:
I had so many questions about how they cope, but didn’t want to dampen the spontaneous festive spirit in the room that emerged when their three year old, Mays, with striking blond curly hair decided to turn on her music and dance. She must know she is the attraction of the family, the community, the UNHCR workers who come here to help. She performs with an air of confidence and entitlement to be in the spotlight. Here is her photo:
Watch her dance here!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ltnoa6oGzU
Things turned serious then. Nora, 9, pictured below, served coffee and her mother lamented that she of all her children was not in school. “She was at the top of her class. What a loss.” Do they have books? No. Will they go to school? Inshallah. My colleague, Nancy explained there would be nearby public schools offering free transportation for Syrian refugees so they could all enroll in September. Resigned that they would still be refugees then, she nodded, encouraged. She told me the reason they finally decided to leave was because of the snipers on top of the kids’ school. Nora then said, “I saw a shot guy lying outside my school once. Then a car ran over him and he was crushed."
Ahmad, 4, is the child in the family who is most traumatized by the conflict. He used to collect bullets, his Mom said. Now he tries to repair things around the house, but will suddenly throw things around too. A teddy bear was the first object of his anger. Next he hurled a CD like a frisbee.
On Friday, UNHCR will be issuing its fifth appeal to Governments and private citizens for massive funding for the refugee families here struggling for shelter, health and education as the war rages back home.