Sara 6 VOICES FROM ZAATARI»REFUGEE IS NOT A GOOD WORD«

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1 6 VOICES FROM ZAATARI»REFUGEE IS NOT A GOOD WORD«Jordan has welcomed nearly people fleeing form the war in Syria. More than of them live in Zaatari, a refugee camp just a few kilometers from the Syrian border. What was their life like before the war? How are their days spent now? What are their thoughts on the future? Meet Sara, Omar, Hiba, Fatima, Musa and Raha TEXT SOPHIE ARNÖ PHOTO JÖRGEN HILDEBRANDT Sara»The first time I saw Zaatari I was surprised. There were so many tents and trailers. Now we have been here for almost four years and we are staying in one of the trailers. The door is broken, you can t close it completely. We have put a sponge in the gap to stop rats and insects from getting in. Everything is expensive here. UNHCR distributes ration cards for us to get clothes. They said we would get some. But we got nothing. We are seven girls so we only got shoes. The way I think now is different to before. I feel older. When I grow up I want to help people. 9 I want to be happy and feel safe. Now I cry when I think about how far away my family is.«

2 »Before the war I lived in a village called Muhajjah, in Daraa. We had a big house, five rooms and a kitchen. My family was gathered, and we were safe and secure. I went to school, and played football with my friends. The only thing I brought with me when I left Syria were the clothes on my body. We were smuggled by the Free Syrian Army. They said that we were going to Jordan, but I didn t know we were going to Zaatari. We crossed the border in Nasib. When we came here there were no schools. I had to wait for a year before I could start school. What I Omar 17 did during the days? Walked in and out of the tent. I didn t think about anything. I only thought about Syria, that the regime would fall so that we could return to home. I still do. I don t see a future here.«

3 »I got married when I was 14 years old, and had my first child on year later. In total, I got one girl, and five boys, two pairs of twins. Now I have none of them left. I was cooking in the kitchen in our home in Daara when a rocket struck down in our living room. In an instant, everything changed. It was like I had been asleep and woken up to a terrible nightmare. When I arrived at Zaatari, I was mad with grief, and I had also been hit by shrapnel to the head. I spent the entire first year at one of the hospitals here. Now I work as a volunteer at Save the Children lactation clinic. It has helped me, I ve got to interact with and be around children, I have had a mission, and I have been treated with dignity. I have been to hell, but with support and love from amazing people, you can get back to a good place. Today I m married and have a son. I no longer have to ask to keep other people s children. But my wounds opened when I had him. Even if you get hundreds of children, they can never replace the ones you have lost. Right now I treat him like he is my only child, but there is something within me. There is something that is broken, which only God can heal.«raha23

4 »Life in Syria before the war... It cannot be described. I lived in Jasem. In what I remember to be a house with the most beautiful surroundings, it was so green. In the spring we used to sit under the trees. Those who live in their native country cannot imagine what we have had to go through. No one ever imagined or believed that it would be like this. War. It began as a revolution, like any revolution, demonstrations. Then it changed... May 11th 2011 government forces attacked our city. We had realized that they would come and fled to my uncles, a few kilometers away, some days before. We saw our city burn from a distance. We tried to call those who were left there, but all lines and pipes were cut off, water, electricity, everything. Lots of people fled. There were thousands on the roads; four-five people on every motorcycle. At every intersection there was a tank. I thought that I was never going to see my friends again. After the first attack, which lasted ten days, we could return to our house, before fleeing to Jordan. I was shocked, and will never forget how it looked. Government soldiers had lived there while we were gone. They had stolen everything that was of value, electrical gadgets, tools, phones, everything. The food storage was messy and cluttered. They had ruined everything. After all that has happened I try not to make any Hiba 17 big plans, so that I do not get disappointed. I believe that anything can happen. I can return to Syria And be forced to leave again. I expect everything and nothing.«

5 »When we were in Syria, it was a country that tourists went to, to see the archeological ruins, the Umayyad Mosque. When we were free from school, we used to go to the market in Damascus, and just stroll around. Now I have been here for three years. What I miss the most are the friends and relatives I used to hang out with. In this camp, I know no one. You must be strong. If you go to the market and someone approaches you and says»come with me«. You have to remember he is a stranger. Also sometimes wild dogs get into the market. We are in the desert. One time, a man caught a wolf. I go to school and Koran school for a few hours a day, but what I like most is to play with my friends, and help people with their computers. Just before you came I was reformatting one. A lot of people here use WhatsApp to stay in contact with their families and friends in Syria. There are some that use Viber as well, but not me, it is too expensive. I want to study computer science when I grow up. If you study hard you can become someone. Something that I learned from the war is that the Syrians did not stand together as one. Everyone fought for themselves, and their own desires. It happens in this camp too. I don t like the word Refugee. Why are there people how say»you are a refugee here«? We are all one people!«musa 14

6 »Syria was like the Garden of Eden. It was a completely different life. Our house, how we lived. Life in Zaatari is very poor. The cold that is brought by the storms, it is sucking the life out of us. Also I did not want to get married here... I asked why. My family just said it was my destiny. My husband is 22 years old. I did not know what had happened when I realized that I was pregnant. Am I having a child? I thought. But as soon as she was born I was happy. My only wish now is to return to Syria. I just want to live, with my daughter and my husband.«fatima 17 Watch the clip with Sara, Omar, Hiba, Fatima, Musa and Raha here: