Za’atari: A Day In The Life

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November 2013
“We have almost tripled the number of kids going to school, from before the summer until now.” Six months on from the last episode, winter is setting in and Za’atari has changed. More kids are in school and more families are in caravans, but there is still work to be done – especially for the youngest, most vulnerable refu...
“Stop this nonsense. No demonstrations anymore!” Protests over electricity flare into riots. Some familiar faces block the entrance to UNHCR base camp and Kilian is at his wits’ end.
“I do this job because I love to put smiles on people’s faces. I think that’s why.” Kilian has taken a day off and Za’atari is at boiling point over access to electricity. But in the old part of the camp, there is joy: grateful families finally get the keys to their caravans.
“Now you are in Jordan, and these gentlemen will take care of you.” The High Commissioner and Andrew head back to the border to meet Jordan’s newest refugees. Back at Za’atari Nida is faced with a tough situation.
“60,000 kids in this camp, so there should be 30,000 going to school every day.” It’s World Refugee Day and at Za’atari that means press conferences and VIPs are added to the usual agenda of vaccinations, diplomacy and heartbreak. And shouldn’t you be in school? Kilian gets to grips with Za’atari’s truancy problem.
“The refugees are coming across.” Night falls at the border and the Syrian conflict comes dangerously close. Kilian, Andrew and the team are on the front line, waiting to welcome the camp’s newest residents as they emerge from the darkness.
“It’s a very combustible mix.” Za’atari is abuzz. Kilian races through last-minute prep (and a visit to the camp’s barber shop) before the dignitaries and special guests arrive, and Andrew worries about the most important guests of all - the thousand-plus Syrian refugees just on the other side of the border, waiting to cro...
“What do the children know about what’s going on in Syria? They’re just trying to survive.” Andrew reveals the refugees’ harrowing route from Syria into Jordan. Cracks show in Kilian’s defenses as he walks out of a child’s hospital appointment.
“Where on earth have you seen children stealing a police station?” Kilian opens the books on the Za’atari’s mischief problems, handily illustrated by a missing police station. Up at the border, Andrew has a difficult moment.
“I will stay here until the last Syrian person goes back to Syria.” Dr. Ibrahim is in surgery and Kilian is meeting with camp leaders to seek an end to the vandalism, stone-throwing and mischief. Like so much at Za’atari, neither experience goes exactly as planned.
“Why? Because the people in this camp are our brothers and sisters.” On the floor of a pre-fab caravan, Syrian refugee and roving medic Dr. Ibrahim and his team prepare to extract a piece of shrapnel from a young father’s groin. The operation happens with minimal equipment, ad-hoc support... and unexpected challenges.
“This is an example of how quickly tensions can rise.” Bodyguards in tow, Nida heads back into the caravan delivery melée. Over in the French hospital, Dr. Ana, a whirlwind of energy and expertise, is working overtime to ensure those Za’atari residents who need medical help, get it.
Ana Calvo is the camp doctor at Za’atari. She is a 54 year-old and from Columbia. Calvo does humanitarian work because she was exposed to the experiences of refugees as a child. She strongly believes in the right to be safe and healthy.
Andrew Harper is head of the operation and representative for Jordan. He is a 49 year-old Australian, married with three young daughters.
Kilian Kleinschmidt is the camp manager at Za’atari. He is 51 years old, from Germany and married with six children. Kleinschmidt does humanitarian work because of his urge to discover, to question, to innovate and ultimately provide change to the dispossessed.
Nida Yassin is a community worker at Za’atari. She is 27 years old and from Jordan. Yassin does humanitarian work because her father was a refugee and she understands what that means.
A Day In The Life follows frontline workers as they tackle a myriad of challenges in the UNHCR Jordan operation in Za’atari - one of the harshest refugee camps in the world.
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