“If you didn’t die from the bombs, you died from hunger.” Abdul Baset Al Buquai had little choice but to leave Syria. His family lived in Baba Amr, a suburb of the city of Homs. It had become the centre of opposition to the government and was levelled in a military offensive last spring.

His house was destroyed, leaving his mother paralyzed in both legs and his young daughter suffering with epileptic seizures. They escaped to Jordan, sometimes travelling by foot, he carrying his injured mother on his back while his wife carried their daughter.

Intesar Fayyad, a 54 year old refugee, also fled from Homs to Jordan. “I was scared for my daughter. Young women were being raped. When eleven of our neighbours had their throats cut in a massacre, I knew we had to leave. Four of them were women, three were children, aged 5, 10 and 12 years.”

Sayed Toqee, a market stall owner in Homs, decided to leave after realising nobody was prepared to save Syria. “I lost hope that help would ever come,” he said.

Syrians like Abdul, Intesar and Sayed continue to pour across the border to Jordan, escaping a two-year civil war which has killed 70,000 people. Numbers making the journey have been accelerating since December. The government estimates that there are 10,000 new arrivals a week, with over 89,000 refugees crossing over since the start of the year.

The country's main refugee camp at Zaatari holds more than 90,000 refugees and is expected to swell even further. A new camp is to be open soon. But most of the 380,000 refugees in Jordan leave the camps as soon as they can to live in cities and towns.

Rahaf Al Jaber, a 20 year old woman from the Syrian capital Damascus who now volunteers for Caritas remembers her life as a refugee in Zaatari. “We were there 29 days. I counted every single one.” Iman Shami, a Syrian refugee who stayed in a camp and is now living in the town of Mafraq, said, “My son has asthma and my daughter has a heart condition. Life was very difficult for them in the camp with the dust and the wind. Life is much better here.”



But they struggle to buy food, fuel and clothing. Work is illegal for most refugees, under-the-table jobs are poorly paid and savings long gone. “The most difficult thing is paying the rent,” said Iman. “We arrived with nothing, just the clothes we were wearing.” She lives with her husband and children in a tiny apartment in Mafraq, it’s roof falling down, cold winter drafts coming through the cracks in the walls.

Caritas Jordan works with the Syrians in urban areas through its centres across the country, providing humanitarian aid like blankets, heaters, fuel, food and hygiene kits, as well as medical care, housing support, informal education and counselling for trauma. So far Caritas Jordan has registered 75,000 individuals for its assistance.

Syrian families like Iman’s are given vouchers by Caritas which they can use in local shops to buy blankets, warm cloths, fuel or food. “The refugees can decide what they buy,” said Laith Bsharat, Supervisor at the Caritas Centre in Zarqa. “It gives them human dignity to have a choice.”

Caritas also provides Syrian families with rent support, as well as fixing up apartments which are in a really bad state of decay. Staff members do detailed assessments of each family so that the aid they provide can be tailored to the individual needs.

As part of the care, Caritas has medical centres with doctors and dentists who provide primary health services like check-ups and treatment for simple illnesses. Intesar Fayyad has bad knees and diabetes. She gets prescriptions from the Caritas doctors and vouchers at the centre in Zarqa. “Because I have a special diet, with the vouchers I can get the food I need,” she said.

“Mental health is very important,” said Lana Snobar, a psychologist providing counselling for Caritas. “Nobody can get on with their normal lives if they are mentally ill.” She has found high levels of anxiety among the refugees, many of whom have firsthand experience of traumatic events, like seeing violent deaths and the loss of relatives. She provides group and one-to-one therapy.

“They are constantly watching the news,” she said. “They are worried about their families left in Syria. I can’t lie and say everything is going to be ok. I try to encourage them to do whatever relaxes them for an hour, like prayer, talking or playing sports.”

About half of Syrian refugee families can’t or won’t send their children to Jordanian schools. Volunteers of Caritas Jordan teach Mathematics, English and Arabic, they provide arts and sports. Credit: Nicholson/Caritas

Children are particularly vulnerable says the psychologist. “I had one father who had been so badly beaten in jail, his legs were broken. After his release, the family came to Jordan. He was fine, but each time the children saw a policeman, they’d become very agitated. It took three months of treatment to help them.”

As the conflict drags on, Syrian children are being hurt in other ways, especially by losing out valuable time at school. About half of Syrian refugee families can’t or won’t send their children to Jordanian schools. “The children will be the biggest losers in this crisis,” said Wael Suleiman, Director of Caritas Jordan.

To earn enough money to pay rent, Zarfeh Shibleyh must send her teenage children out to work. They leave home at 5am for a long day’s labour, of which they receive 2 Jordanian dinars, around $3. Rent is 150 dinars a month. “They are losing their education,” she said. “But what can we do. We have to pay rent.”

Mohammad Azroun makes sure his three girls and one boy go to school, saying the future of Syria lies with them. But even for the children who do attend public school, the classes are overcrowded and the children have fallen behind in their lessons. That’s why Caritas provides extra informal classes in the afternoon, after normal ones have finished.

Volunteers teach Mathematics, English and Arabic, they provide arts and sports. In education, as in all of the work of Caritas, volunteering is the backbone. “The real human resource in this crisis is our 1000 volunteers,” said Wael Suleiman, Director of Caritas Jordan.

The volunteers do different tasks. Some register new arrivals, others hand out aid. Some teach, some provide cooked meals, some help community relations. “We give out smiles”, said Laith Bsharat, Centre Supervisor at Zarqa.

“We’re not just a computer giving out aid,” said Sarah Alrahal, a 25 year old volunteer for Caritas Jordan. “We’re here if the refugees just need to talk. They tell us about their lives in Syria. Sometimes it’s very emotional. It’s important to give them this safe place to speak about their experiences.”

Yazan Haddadim, coordinates volunteers in Madaba. “I have learned a lot,” he said. “I have learned the true meaning of love and the true meaning of service. I have learned what justice, equality and solidarity really looks like in practise.”

Speaking from Amman, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal believes Caritas Jordan and its volunteers are inspirational. He says that it is crucial the work of Caritas Jordan continues to help Syrian refugees, but only peace is a lasting solution.

“We will have more innocent victims before this circle of violence is over,” said the Patriarch. “For the Catholic Church, our mission is to help them no matter what. But they need more than food or shelter, they need their dignity. It is easy to start a war, but nobody knows how to end this one. We need leaders to stop this war.”