Hana (16), who fled her home town of Daara in southern Syria after her house was bombed and some of her relatives tortured, standing outside a tent in Zaatari refugee camp in northern Jordan where she lives with her family of mother and father, 4 sisters and 2 brothers.
She is wearing a green school uniform supplied to her by the IOCC (International Orthodox Christian Charities) and attends the UNICEF run school in the camp 5 days a week. She said ,’ Knowledge is what makes us better. These subjects allow me to become a doctor. Whenever I see a child in pain, or my brother in pain I wish to help him. So this was my inspiration.’
(Full Audio interview and transcript available A4Pint_AishaSchoolGirl130429v. )
The Syrian conflict, which started as an uprising against the government of President Bashar Al-Assad, started in March 2011 and has led to over one million Syrians fleeing their country. Jordan is host to over 500,000 refugees, the vast majority of which have sought shelter within urban areas in host communities in Jordan. There are also three refugee camps, with the main camp of Zaatari holding over 120,000 people and increasing daily. The situation escalated in 2013 with over 2,000 people a day crossing the border into Jordan