Support Azraq Refugee Camp in Jordan

Jordan, a country with one of the highest number of refugees in the world relative to population, hosts two large Syrian refugee camps. Together, the camps shelter more than 100,000 refugees, while several hundred thousand more have settled in urban parts of the country.

As part of International Medical Corps’ response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis, I traveled to Jordan earlier this year to visit Azraq Refugee Camp, one of the largest Syrian refugee camps in the world. Amid disruption, I witnessed life continuing, albeit trembling.

To understand first-hand the situation that Syrian refugees find themselves in, I wanted to speak to as many of them as possible. I listened to their stories about life in Syria before the war, about having to leave their homeland to face an uncertain future, and about adapting to a new, often challenging, environment. The Syrian conflict has now entered its eighth year, and this uncertainty still lingers.

What I soon realized is that no matter the destination, the abruption is heartbreaking in and of itself. Left behind is not “just” one’s country and the place one calls home; families are many times separated, the journey to safety itself can be perilous and, once relative safety is reached, the pursuit for a “new normal” begins. One quest may have come to an end upon arrival, but another one has just begun.

I also spent time in conversation with my colleagues at the Azraq Hospital. Through the European Union, International Medical Corps runs the only fully equipped hospital inside the camp. The hospital has several departments: a pediatrics unit, a department for emergency care and a maternity ward with rooms for pre- and post-delivery care.

Fascinated by the concept of new beginnings and the uncertainties of bringing life into this world as a refugee, I met with mothers, grandmothers, doctors and midwives at the maternity ward to learn more about reproductive health at a Syrian refugee camp.

The maternity ward is predominately a happy place. Smiles and laughter echo from both patients and staff. It is a place where mothers-to-be can spend time together with their friends, sisters and relatives. It’s a place of anticipation and excitement, followed by joy and relief. When I asked the doctors and midwives why they work at the camp, often traveling several hours every day from their homes to the desert to reach it, the answer was instantaneous. They want to do what they can to help Syrian refugees.

It’s a special place, the maternity ward—a kind of parallel universe where Syrian mothers get to be just that: mothers. For a short period of time, perhaps, it feels like the outside world doesn’t exist. In 2017 alone, more than 1,500 babies were born at the hospital. Mother and babies receive the care and rest they need and, briefly, they get to experience the same happiness as women who safely deliver a son or a daughter into this world without seeking refuge.

I left Azraq Refugee Camp and Jordan with impressions of the endurance, optimism and resilience of the Syrian refugee community, and the skill and kindness of my colleagues who work in the camp, all of them committed to improving the lives of Syrian refugees at a time when they are their most vulnerable.

We thank you and the GlobalGiving community for your continued support of International Medical Corps as we provide health services in Azraq Refugee Camp.