WORLD REFUGEE DAY 2015: BEYTI FOR SYRIAN REFUGEE CHILDREN
Millions and millions of people in the Middle East, Africa and Asia are struggling to seek a place of safety amidst ongoing internal conflicts and wars. They have no choice. They risk their lives, embark on a life-threatening journey and leave their properties as well as livelihoods behind in search of a better safer live.
Thousands of people have lost their lives in search of a refuge; amongst these people are someone’s father, mother, son, daughter, grandchildren, husband and the list goes on. The consequence of these loses is that children are left without their fathers, mother, carers or all of them. These innocent children, who are dependent on their parents and carers, have no protection and scope for secure future.
The civil war in Syria which started in 2011 has caused one of the most agitating upheavals of our time. Over three million people have fled to their neighbouring countries which include Turkey Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. There are around 1,772,535 registered Syrian refugees in Turkey out of which 20.8%, approximately 368,687, are children below 11 years old. They are the most vulnerable group amongst the refugees who are entirely dependent on their families for fortification, sustenance and development.
Families who have safely managed to cross borders are tussling to discover different ways to make both ends meet. Children have to miss out on schoosl and essential recreational activities to support their parents to earn a living just to survive. These children have to give up their dreams and aspirations of a successful future in order to subsist in the present.
The biggest concern, however, is for the children who are left behind alone without any parents or carers. The reality is that the brutal war in Syria has made thousands of children lose either one or both parents during their escapes. Some of them lost their parents even before they were born. There are several intense stories of children who have either seen their parent being killed in front of them or seen their dead bodies at a young age when the brain strives to understand the concept of death and departure.
Children in Syria have suffered and are continuing to suffer as the war continues. In such circumstances, Muslim Aid is helping to build and run an orphanage called Beyti which means ‘My home’ for the children under the age of 10 years. This orphanage is situated in Turkey and provides security and opportunity to have a normal live to children who have no parental or carer support. The children are sent to schools in the surrounding areas of the orphanage and they are assigned a carer inside Beyti to support their education. They are also given psychological treatments to provide relief to them from their sorrow and pain. Beyti takes care of their basic needs by providing these children with clean water for bath, hot and healthy meals for nourishment, clean clothes and most importantly toys which they had to leave behind in Syria before starting a dangerous journey as refugees.