Ala (25) sits with his family in a small apartment in Russeifa, 15km NW of of the capital Amman, Jordan. They fled their home town of Daara in southern Syria 3 months ago after their house was bombed.
Ala was taken by the Syrian army for 4 months and tortured. He was eventually dumped back outside his family home. He used to work in a factory making drapes but is now severely traumatised and unable to communicate or work. He hasn’t spoken since he returned and wakes up screaming and hits his head.
Like many other families, they left Syria with nothing and are struggling to survive. The father Heitham, used to be a green grocer but was shot in the legs and cannot work.
Another two of sons, Ahmad (17) & Bassel (15) wash cars for JD2 ($3) a day which they live on. The family are supported by Act for Peace partners Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees (DSPR) and their neighbours who have given them blankets and some food aid.
(Full Video interview and transcript available. A4Pint_TorturedSon130429)
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