Abrahim Ali Baradan (23) from the southern Syrian city of Daara who arrived in Zaatari refugee camp 35 days ago to receive medical treatment to shrapnel wounds to his body and head. Behind to the right is his father Ali (55) who is also injured. They both claim to be fighters in the Attl Al Sunna rebel group and both have been arrested and imprisoned by the Syrian government and suffered torture during their incarceration. Abrahim was imprisoned for 7 months and his father for 5 months. They both are waiting to recover and want to get back to Syria to continue fighting. Ali said, ‘We are going to take down the President. I just want to be well enough to fight again.’
Zaatari refugee camp in northern Jordan close to the border of Syria which is hosting over 100,000 refugees from Syria and is fast becoming one of the largest refugee camps in the world.
Located in the desert region it can be very cold at night and extremely hot and dusty in the day which has led to many medical complications. The biggest issue is the availability of fresh clean drinking water. Whilst bare basics such as food, water, shelter and medical care is provided, frustrations about shortages often leads to violent confrontations. The majority of refugees here are women and children and with little security or electricity in the camp, gender based issues are a problem.
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