“I love coming to the centre. I sometimes play the guitar at the music club. I am also currently taking computer skills—I am enjoying it.” - Rami*, 15, Syrian refugee in Jordan
In situations of forced displacement, persons with disabilities face numerous additional barriers and protection risks, including a heightened risk of violence, exploitation and abuse. Children with disabilities may suffer stigma, bullying or discrimination (including harassment) at the hands of their peers or teachers, harming their educational opportunities.[1]
Rami*, 15, is a Syrian refugee living with his family and younger siblings who also have disability like himself. Coming from Dara’a, Syria, Rami was only five years old when he fled his hometown in 2013 to take refuge in Jordan and he has been living in the Emirati Jordanian Camp (EJC) with his family since then.
Rami’s mother Nada* says, “We left Syria when the situation became too unstable and my youngest son was very sick. He needed a doctor.” Nada explains that she struggled to find support for her children with developmental delays and that she currently works in the camp’s kitchen, “It is only for a few hours a day; I cannot do more because my children need me. My husband works as a volunteer as well.”
Growing up in the camp for the last 10 years, Rami has attended EJC’s school as well as the Emirates Red Crescent’s (ERC) centre for children with disabilities, but it was not easy. “I have always loved school, but the boys are mean to me,” Rami explains. “As a little child, Rami played outside every day,” his mother says, but when her son entered adolescence, he isolated himself and did not interact with others like he used to. While his disability is not as severe as his brothers, other children’s mistreatment greatly affected him. “He does not know how to defend himself, so I told him to pay them no attention,” Nada adds. One time Rami was accused of hurling stones onto peoples’ caravans but says, “Those children said it was me who did it, but people saw the truth; they believed me over them,” Rami says.
In June 2022, the family met one of Terre des hommes Lausanne’s (Tdh) staff, Heba, at the hospital in the camp and found out about Tdh’s services for children, including those with disability. “That day, Heba suggested that we send Rami to Tdh’s centre,” Nada recalls. According to Heba, a case manager at Tdh, “Rami never used to maintain eye contact; he was very shy. After meeting his parents, I invited them to send Rami to our centre, but the boy was very hesitant. After an awareness session on self-confidence, he decided to visit us and a short while after, he started asking to take part in different activities. Now he has friends here and I am so happy to see how much he has improved,”. The teenage boy was enrolled in different activities for psychosocial support and skills-building so he could properly deal with emotional stress. He was able to speak to a psychologist at ERC hospital as well as join football matches at Tdh’s centre. As for his parents, they received advice and guidance from Heba during house visits about caring for Rami and his siblings and for their own self-care and wellbeing.
“Rami has been changing every day and it is positively impacting his siblings. In fact, I still cannot believe how confident he has become. He is showing a lot of eagerness to learn and grow,” Nada shares. Rami is eager to participate in many activities, “I love coming to the centre. I sometimes play the guitar at the music club. I am also currently taking computer skills—I am enjoying it,” the boy says in excitement.
Rami does not know what he wants to become in the future but is willing to learn many skills. Although he does not know much about Syria, he hopes that they return to their homeland after the situation improves.
Project brief:
The ‘Life-saving essential health care and specialised protection services’ project started in May 2022 and is funded by the European Union Humanitarian Aid. It aims to fill key protection and health gaps of underserved communities and Syrian refugees across six governorates (Madaba, Karak, Tafileh, Ma’an, Amman and Irbid) and in the official camps of Za’atari, Azraq and Emirati Jordanian Camp (EJC). Since May 2022, this action has been implemented by a consortium led by INTERSOS in partnership with Forearms of Change Center to Enable Community (FOCCEC), International Medical Corps (IMC) and Terre des hommes Lausanne (Tdh).
In the EJC, Tdh delivers a complete package of child protection and Gender Based Violence (GBV) prevention and response services in the camp with a focus on community-based approaches. Tdh’s trained case managers, like Heba, work with all families in the EJC camp to identify and support vulnerable girls and boys who require individualised services. So far, 3,149 people, including almost 2,000 children were reached.
*Names have been changed to protect identities.