: ‘My children ask me, what is Syria?’ Za’atari refugee camp enters second decade #IndiaNEWS #International 2022 marks the tenth anniversary of the UN-run Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan. It

‘My children ask me, what is Syria?’ Za’atari refugee camp enters second decade #IndiaNEWS #International
2022 marks the tenth anniversary of the UN-run Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan. It is the largest in the Middle East – and one of the largest in the world – and home to some 80,000 Syrians. UN News spoke to some of the refugees about life at the camp, and their hopes for the future.

Adil Tughan, a Syrian Refugee in Al Zaatari Camp. , by Adil Tughan

Adil Toukan came to Za’atari camp in April 2013, from the city of al-Sanamayn in the Daraa governorate in southern Syria, along with his wife and two young children.
Since then, he and his wife have had three more children, who know nothing about their home country.
“My family and I went through a great deal of suffering when we left Syria. We crossed more than one security checkpoint and more than one country.
Life is stable, in terms of the living conditions, security, and infrastructure. The educational situation is excellent [There are 32 schools in the camp, 58 community centres, and eight clinics in the camp].
Electricity is available for eight hours per day. There is a sewage network and a water network. There are asphalt roads and an internal transportation network.
We want our children to have a better life than us, in terms of education, study and work.

Ghasim Al-Lubbad, a Syrian Refugee from Zaatari Camp. , by Adil Tughan

‘No one came here willingly’
Qassim Lubbad, from Daraa governorate, came to the camp in May 2013. He is not optimistic about the situation in Syria.
“Surely no one came here willingly. I came from Syria with five children and had three children here in the camp.
Everyone came because they were forced to seek safety and security. There was suffering. Families took different routes. We spent more than 72 hours moving from one village to another until we reached the border and entered Jordan.
When I talk to my children about Syria, and tell them that we have family there, they ask me: What is Syria? I explain that a war broke out, and we came to the camp. I tell them that staying here in the camp is not our choice: when things calm down and the security situation improved, we will return to Syria.
They ask me about their future here and whether they will complete their studies and then marry and own homes here. I answer them that this matter is not in our hands, but in the hands of God, and that just as we came without prior planning, we can also return to Syria without prior planning.
I hope that the situation will change for the better. I miss everything in Syria: the air and water, childhood, memories, parents and relatives.