Added by bowatkin on July 23, 2012.
Saved under Commentary, News, Opinions
Tags: cornel west, poverty, Tavis Smiley
Grim conditions for Syrian refugees fleeing to Jordan
By Barbara Starr, reporting from the Al-Zaatri refugee camp in Jordan
Thirteen-year-old Amani has only been living in Al-Zaatri refugee camp in Jordan for a few days, after fleeing with her family from her home in Daraa, Syria. She left with eight other family members, many of whom are young children.
Amani is just one of the thousands of refugees fleeing the bloodbath back home, but not everyone in her family made it across the Jordanian border safely. Her mother was a martyr caught in a bomb explosion. She was hit by shrapnel and died.
"She was everything (to me) - she brought us up, and died. She would take us wherever we wanted to go, I was the one most attached to her," Amani said.
In Daraa, Amani and her family were plagued with shelling every night before they fled. The rebel Free Syrian Army finally helped Amani and her family escape to Jordan and to the refugee camp.
The regime of President Bashar al-Assad asserts that it is fighting terrorists, but for another refugee camp resident, 22-year-old Rasha, it's a much different story.
"My cousin was out at a demonstration after Friday prayers and was killed by a sniper" Rasha said.
The Jordanian government has reported more than 140,000 Syrian refugees are already in Jordan. The United Nations is trying to improve the refugees' bleak conditions by housing 100,000 in the camp.
The refugees live in packed tents that barely protect from the heat. Dust creeps in constantly. Refugees must trek across the hot dry desert to gather food and supplies.
Meanwhile, the sand whips and stings, making it hard for people to see and even breathe in these harsh conditions. Every day, more and more refugees arrive from Syria, creating overcrowding in a camp where shelter, water and electricity are scarce.
All of the agencies in charge of the camp say they are doing everything they can to improve the conditions here, but the loss of family members and blistering desert climate have proved to be very difficult for many refugees trying to adapt.
For many young refugees the Syrian military has taken away their childhood. For Amani, it happened the moment they took away her mother.
"We cried, we cried a lot, they buried her and what happened, happened. God bless her soul" Amani said.
CNN intern Alicia Tarancon contributed to this report
Send Comments
Your comments will be added to the article that you write about, so include the article title
Today is
War & Children
War = Death of Parents
War = Destruction of Homes
War = Destruction of Roads
War = Destruction of Hospitals
War = Destruction of Schools
War = Destruction of Grocery Stores
War = Destruction of Play Grounds
War = DESTRUCTION of EVERYTHING
ANY QUESTIONS
When Romney talk tough about what he would do if Iran got nuclear capability.
When Israel talk about pre-emptive strikes against Iran.
WE ALL SHOULD REMIND THESE PEOPLE WHAT WAR REALLY DOES TO THE CHILDREN.
The Children of Syria, the Children of Iraq, the Children of Afghanistan, the Children of Pakistan, and all the Children of the world are subjected to the ignorance of adults.
Men beat their chest like apes in the jungles, and these men are all elected officials, with suits on, who promise that they understand what their doing, they understand your pain, they are acting in your best behalf, and all the while they steal your money, they accept bribes from the wealthy, and when a war starts, they protect their children and their family members, while they send your family members to fight for a war that they instigated with the beating of their chest.
For decades, the world have had the wrong people in leadership positions, who weigh their own personal opinions of people that they interact with, on the other side of the table, and it's their inability to recognize that their opinion doesn't matter, its the lives of the people they represent that matters, therefore, a leader's personal opinion is out weighed by his/her representation of thousands, and millions.
The lives of children should be the first consideration when any human being ever considers "fighting" in any manner. If a fight that you are considering, does not affect any children in your life, then fight, but, if your life affects any child, if you were to die as a result of a fight, then don't fight.
The Children of Syria are not casualties of war, they are the casualties of flawed leadership who beat their chests, and the citizens are so ignorant to be convinced to follow flawed leadership, and its those citizens who children will be sacrificed to fight in a war for flawed leadership and flawed character in leaders.
To Date, muslim children are being orphaned by leaders who beat their chest, and it's those children who are orphaned that will become willing candidates for more war.
The Current Muslim Leaders around the world will continue to fight, and more children will become orphans, and no one will do anything.
What is War?
War is Destruction of EVERYTHING
How do we avoid war?
Choose better leaders, and put the flawed ones in jail.
In My Opinion
ASKFMB
5/1/2012
Send Comments
Your comments will be added to the article that you write about, so include the article title
