Syrian mothers in refugee camp brace for winter
More than 200 Syrian babies are born in Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan every month, and with winter on its way and a shortage of baby food, families are worried.
MAFRAQ, Jordan — Residents call it the “Champs Elysees,” the main street where refugees do their groceries, drink coffee and cut their hair. However, it does not look like the luxurious street in the French capital at all. Everything in the Zaatari refugee camp is makeshift for Syrians seeking sanctuary in Jordan. Old tents and pieces of steel are being used for making small stores, and people mostly sell secondhand electronic devices such as refrigerators and cell phones. They even built a store for bridal gowns, as weddings take place in Zaatari every day. And there are more than 10 medical clinics.
Although the camp is starting to look more like a town every day, living standards are not good at all. In front of her trailer, a few minutes’ walk from the “boulevard,” Merwa carries a small baby in her arms. She said she is 30 years old, but she looks 40. Every one of the 112,229 Syrians in the camp has a tale about the war in Syria — of hopes and dreams destroyed and the hardships of living here. Merwa is not any different from the other refugees, although her worries about the displacement are mostly related to her newborn baby.
“Sometimes, I don’t want to live anymore, not like this,” she told Al-Monitor. “My baby is almost a year old, but weights only six pounds more than when she was born.”
Merwa has a soft and friendly voice. Her eyes look tired, as if she has not slept properly for a week. She told me that the baby cries a lot, especially at night, because she is not able to produce enough breast milk for her. In Zaatari, manufactured milk for babies is scarce, too, just like diapers, which can only be bought every few months and are very expensive.
