Stories from Jordan

I’M BACK!!!

Yes, I know I’ve been away awhile, and yes, I do apologize, but I promise what I’ve been working on is really good! I’m sure you’ve all missed by biting sarcasm and endless charm, but unfortunately today I won’t be entertaining with tales of adventures, triumphs, falls, and other shenanigans (I believe Rob already covered some of that…)

Instead, the story I’m going to tell isn’t about me, and it’s not my story. Today, I’m writing in an emotional appeal to your humanity, your belief that there is still good to be seen, and your willingness to contribute and to be a part of improving the world. I’m writing to give you an understanding of what being a refugee means, and why refugees deserve our support and protection. I’m writing because our country has demonstrated a humiliating inability to show compassion for those in less fortunate circumstances recently. I’m writing to tell you one story, out of countless stories, that illustrate the horror and destruction of civil war. I’m writing to show you what the conflict in Syria can do to a family, to children. I’m writing because I think everyone needs a reminder (myself included) of how fortunate we are to call America home.

Since the start of the Syrian Civil War, over ten million people have been displaced, both internally and externally. According to Mercy Corps, two million refugees have fled to Turkey, over one million to Lebanon, and nearly 700,000 to Jordan. Half of those who have left behind the destruction of their homes are children. This atrocious struggle between rebel factions and the Assad regime has destroyed countless cities, fragmented families, and devastated an entire country of over 20 million people. Today, I want to tell you the story of one refugee family currently in Jordan that overcame extreme violence, hunger, cold, and hostility in order to make it to refuge.

In the city of Homs 150 kilometers (roughly 100 miles) north of Damascus in Western Syria, Rashid* worked at a hotel in order to support his wife and their three small children. The family lived a normal, comfortable life, with food on the table and the children in school. However, the Syrian Civil War altered their lives permanently, and forced the family to leave their life in Syria and flee from the carnage of both the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the Assad regime.

At the outbreak of the war, Rashid and his family continued to live and work in Syria until the beginning of early 2013, when Rashid was captured and tortured by the FSA for smuggling a local Christian out of prison. It is worth noting that elements from the FSA in Homs are tied to ISIS. Beaten until he couldn’t speak or remember the ages of his children, Rashid endured horrible suffering and cruelty for eight days, after which he was returned to his home in an area secured by the FSA. Since rebel forces controlled their area of the city, the family lived in constant threat of violence perpetuated by both sides, and their street was bombed multiple times by the Assad regime.

After two bombs exploded inside their home, the family decided to abandon their home and seek shelter with the grandfather of Rashid’s wife in a safer part of Homs controlled by the regime. Despite the more secure location, Rashid was still under threat of persecution from the FSA, and the family was again forced to leave. They began the 360 kilometer (225 miles) trek to Jordan on foot with Rashid’s extended family, and were eventually smuggled into the Jordanian refugee camp of Zaatari near the border.

While the family escaped the horrors of daily bombings and constant fear, the camp presented different uncertainties, and the family remained anxious about safety. Two months after escaping across the border, Rashid was forced to return to Syria and begin the process of reentering the country a second time. Separated from his family and without money, he traveled to an old Palestinian refugee camp, where he worked in a supermarket to pay to have his family join him. That winter, he was unable to pay his rent, and his entire family was turned out of their apartment during a snowstorm. With their small children, Rashid and his wife walked from Sweileh into Amman in an attempt to find shelter, food, and work.

A local church eventually took in the family, and they remained there until Rashid was able to find work. Today, his family lives in a one room shed, and they are all struggling to recover from the traumas experienced in Syria. Their home has a leaking roof and pipes, one space heater, and a small burner for cooking. The children have no school supplies, toys, or books and are struggling to adjust to life after Syria.

For his children, Rashid only asked for protection and safety. However, I am asking for help in ensuring that the family’s home is capable of surviving the winter. We would like to waterproof the roof and seal the pipes so the home is dry and warm, and I personally want to ensure that these three children are given every chance for a sense of normalcy here in Jordan. By investing in art supplies, toys, backpacks, and a few other essential items, we can attempt to give them a childhood, and the opportunity to learn and grow in safety.

At a time when we are so thankful for home and family, for safety, and for opportunities, it has been a lesson in humility for me to remember that not everyone is so lucky, and not everyone has the same security and prospects that I have been afforded. It is truly humbling to see a family that has endured so much and seen the darkest and worst parts of humanity remain as kind and generous as these people. To witness such horrors right outside your door, to live every day fearing for your own safety and the safety of your children, to never know if you will have a roof over your head or food to eat tomorrow- it’s something I can’t begin to comprehend. It serves to remind me of my fortunes, as well as our obligation as other human beings to help others when they are in need, in any way we can.

I cannot tell the stories of every refugee just as I cannot detail every heartbreaking trial in Rashid’s story here.

Though I do not have the capability to help as many people as I would like, I do have the ability to help this family, and these children. While it’s difficult to imagine exactly how horrific it is to witness the destruction of your home, your community, your family, and your country, I ask for your compassion and help. I ask that you pledge your support to helping three small children recover from war and violence, and a family heal from years of struggle and fighting. I ask for your support and contribution in this endeavor, and remind you to be thankful for all things, both small and big, for family, and for our freedoms.

“My home is with my family and my family is with me.” -Rashid

*Name has been changed and some details of the family's time in Syria and Jordan have been omitted in order to protect the identity of Rashid and his family, as Rashid is still wanted by ISIS.

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