My Personal reflections upon the Problems faced by Syrian Women in

Zaatari Refugee camps

What would you do if some guy from your neighborhood passes some ill-comment at you
while you are walking down the streets? asked Doctor Uncle.
Well, I would first give him a piece of my mind and then call my brother(s) so they can teach
the guy a lesson. My fifteen year old self replied promptly.
Now imagine the same situation in a different setting. Lets say youre in .. USA and there is
this White guy who does so. What would you do, then?, He asked as if already knowing my
answer.
I remained Silent.
This was a conversation I had with my Doctor almost five years back. Hes a real chatty person
and he was trying to convince me that we have been living far better lives than our folks in
foreign countries. And today, I realize that this conversation is the only perk that my struggles
from chronic tonsillitis have bore.
After having randomly watched many videos about the refugees, I realize that there were few
ones have really struck me. And among these quite few, the one explaining the plea of women
refugees in Zaatari has really forced me to ruminate over the same conversation, once more.
What would I have done?
Well, the answer is obvious, isnt it? I would have remained Silent. Because that all you can do,
when youre in an unknown land, with no family to stand by you and where youre living under
the identity of a sub-ordinate citizen. And the Syrian Refugee women at the Zaatari camp are
no exception to this rule. The only difference is, what they have to go through is a lot worse
than the aforementioned imaginary situation.
The Zaatari camp in Jordan was founded in 2012 to host Syrian refugees fleeing the war, in
order to provide them with safe environment, away from the terror of wars. It hosts as much
Submitted by: B-152 National Law College

as 81000 refugees out of which half are children and women. Jordan, being the neighboring
state of Syria, has been the closest escape for Syrians fleeing the war. The refugees here might
have come out of the terrors of the war, but the women cannot still sleep peacefully at night.
They kidnapped a lot of girls and made them work as prostitutes. The girls in our camp were
kidnapped, raped and then brought back. The Jordanian guys come and harass girls, even as
old as six and seven. says one inmate, her eyes full of tears.
Not only to men from Jordan, the Zaatari camp has also been a main site of attraction for Saudi
Sheikhs searching for wives for a relatively low cost.
The dowries in the Gulf countries are high, but to marry a Syrian woman is really cheap
because theyre not asking for much. So marrying a Syrian woman now is very economical for
a Gulf man. says a Sheikh, who is now on a charity mission of helping Syrian refugees,
particularly single women.
The Sheikhs come to these camps, offering financial assistance to young women and their
families. In return they ask these women to marry them. These marriages are, the marriages of
convenience for the men and last from weeks to months.
What do they see us as? A market place for selling women, like sheeps! They see that we dont
have money, which is why they want to exploit us. They say, give me your daughter for
marriage for 100-300 Dinars, says a father of three daughters living in the camp, his eyes
filled with anger and helplessness.
I couldnt sleep at night. When everybody slept, terror kept me awake, says an unnamed
woman, who had to flee Zaatari after her tent was burned because shes rejected repetitive
proposals of marriage from some Saudi man. Those who reject the proposals usually face an
ill-fate. However, we cannot say that those who accept are spared from the ill fate. In fact, they
suffer more.

I cant describe him as a man. He treated me savagely and was a monster. He used to hit me
so much that I still feel the pain from bruises in my body. He kept telling me that he would
never love me and had married me only for pleasure. states one such victim, eyes wet with
tears.
The stories of Syrians that Ive narrated are just the tip of the iceberg. In the duration of five
days, I came across many such stories that almost got me to tears. There were stories of wars:
of seeing your loved ones dying in front of your eyes, of minors being forced into Jihad sex by
own family, of being separated from people you love But this particular topic has touched me
in a way that none else did.
The reason could be my ability to empathize the feelings of vulnerability with these women,
because of being a female myself. Or maybe, it could be the destruction of my belief that
Refugees are safe inside a refugee camp. Whichever it is, Im thankful because this journey has
helped me learn.
Before starting on this paper, I always had a feeling that the problem of Refugees is not our
concern whatsoever. Why ensure civil Rights to Refugees? They arent OUR citizens, and
hence not OUR problems. Why give them equal job opportunities? That would compromise
OUR employment prospects! .. These set of sentences adequately define my opinion on
refugees then. But when I saw their interviews The children whose eyes showed grief but
their faces still smiled for the camera. The families sharing whatever little food they have
amongst themselves. I tried picturing myself in their shoes. What would it be like, if I were on
their place? And I have realized how wrong Ive been.
The whole journey of this paper has taught me one thing: That Refugees are humans, just like
us. And thats why they deserve to be treated like one. It may be a very weak and small
conclusion to draw for a week of study and a thousand word composition, but it really means
something to me.