I can recount how many times we’ve heard of
violence in the Middle East in the 21st century and even more so in
the past two years. Violence, which has increased over the past two years in
MENA in conjunction with the “Arab Spring”, has left several countries in a
state of instability. I recall my trip to Egypt a few months back and the
hostility, impatience and unfriendly personalities I encountered far different
from the people I’d known a few years prior.
I can recall a conversation I’ve had with an American Jordanian friend
who found those same characteristics in the Jordanian people. When we queried one another it was evident
that the violence in the region had taken its toll on the civilian population
more than the long standing regimes.
We
seem to have quickly dismissed the current situation in Syria, and filed it in
our minds as “violence in the middle east” the unstable region that it is. The
U.S. has had talks, spoken against such atrocious acts while every day the
Authoritarian regime continues to rule with people suffering at the hands of
their merciless ruler. People…who
amount to a mass of thousands of children, families, and communities. From the
outside looking in the country looks rather grim
as it’s marred with the blood of innocent people forever scarred by this
“civil unrest”. This morning I read something
that lightened the picture. Although there are more than 2 million
displaced or refugee Syrian children in Jordan and the surrounding region and
although young girls collect water in near freezing temperatures by their
refugee camps in Jordan, several international organizations are taking a step
forward.
UNICEF
has assisted refugee children through several outages the main and most
important in this winter season are Blankets.
The United Nations Refugee Agency and the Jordanian Government are
preparing to open a second major camp just as Syrian refugee numbers have
increased crossing into Jordan (over 6,400 in the course of a night). Outside of those large entities there are
people helping, people like UNICEF child protection specialists who go out
daily and interact with these refugees to help them reach their sense of
identity, to help them connect with one another, and to re-learn to play, and
talk about their feelings in dealing with the immense stress they’ve undergone.
I
write this not to rant about international organizations, injustice or
governments. I write this blog so that
readers can look at themselves and thank God for their situations because in
other places it’s much worse. It is my
hope that one day I’ll be that change, be that someone who can lend a hand
directly in those camps in those countries where gender inequality,
impoverished children and displaced families exist. I ask YOU to become more aware of the rest of
the world and help. Help, even if it’s helping your neighbor next door who
isn’t able to walk to their car, or someone on the side of the grocery store
with no food or money, help because that help is the hope that will brighten
the long days ahead.
You're so awesome I love reading your posts Juliet! You always enlighten me :)
ReplyDelete- Dontay Allen
Dontay,
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to read this post. It's my hope to provide/share any seed of knowledge I come across. I'm very appreciate of readers who are natural learners like yourself, those that choose to read and understand more about the world around them.