When Um Mohammed’s husband disappeared, she was left to take care of her ten children alone in Idlib, Syria – until the fighting forced them to flee.
“I have ten children – five boys and five girls,” said Um Mohammed. “Before the crisis we lived in a three storey house. Everything was provided – electricity, water, food, everything. We were forced to flee Idlib with nothing. Now we don’t have anything apart from the mercy of God.
“When we arrived in Zaatari camp in Jordan we were able to get two tents – one for me and my children and one for my husband’s second wife. The conditions in the camp were so bad that she became sick and died (may God have mercy on her) leaving behind her two daughters. I didn’t know what to do for my children.”
Waiting for a better life
Life in Jordan was so difficult that Um Mohammed and her children returned to Syria, she told us. Now in a camp inside the crisis country, the family continue to struggle.
“We don’t receive any help in the camp. I sometimes cry when my children ask me for things like food and blankets, as I cannot provide them. Once, they asked me for meat, but it’s too expensive.
“What is lacking? We need a heater, kitchen tools, blankets, mats and mattresses. We suffered a lot in the winter. There were no blankets or clothes to cover us. We were shivering from the cold. Whenever it gets better, I thank God for his mercy.
“I don’t know anything about my family back in Idlib. What I am waiting and hoping for in the future is for God to relieve us from this situation and for us to have a better life, God willing.”