Teaching for life

With 79,901 “people of concern” (UNHCR 2016) living within it Zaa’tari refugee camp is Jordan's 4th biggest city host to Syria refugees forced to flee the war in Syria. The Syrian civil war is the dealist conflict of the 21st century thus far with more than 250 000 Syrians killed fighting (Jazeera, 2016).The war in Syria has meant that many families have experienced and witnessed deaths of loved ones, loss (destruction) of homes, loss of lifestyle (job, home, culture, school) and have been forced the flee their country. Half the country's pre-war population have been forced to flee; this is more than 11 MILLION PEOPLE, which is approximately equivalent to half the population of Australia. It is classified as the worst humanity crisis of the times now with most refugees fleeing to Lebanon or Jordan- where Zaa'tari is located (Mercycorps 2016). 

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Zaa'tari is the destination for many newly arrived refugees and is the most concentrated settlement of refugees (Mercycorps 2016). It was first opened in 2012 and grew quickly from the original 15,000 refugees to the now nearly 80,000, which is 20,000 over its capacity of 60,000 (Dathan and Wilkes). UNHCER (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) is responsible for the refugees and camp is managed by JHCO (Jordan Hashemite charity organization). Due to the influx of refugees the camp is now roughly 5.2 squared kilometers in size and contains 12 districts. The camp has three hospitals, three schools and a market place known as "Champs-Élysées" for its axial form, vibrancy, and centrality to life in the camp (Refugees International 2016). 

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The refugees in Zaa'tari are living in a space that can somewhat be described as liminal. There is not certainty and there is the constant hope, being so close to the boarders of Syria, of returning home, where, there is a high likelihood of nothing being left. There is a great need for all the basic needs to sustain their lives - food, clothing, health assistance, education, reliable supplies of clean water and employment options (World Vision 2016). For most of these issues life goes on as normally as possible with babies being born, children going to school and the inhabitants of the camp slowly becoming more permanent members through improving their 'temporary' homes and with some even connecting (illegally) to electricity. However there are continuous problems associated with finding work for all the residents as Zaa'tari moves from a camp to a semi-permanent city (OXFAM).