47 year old Badriya is left in Jordan with her 7 children after her husband went to Europe this summer. Badriya has received an emergency cash assistance of US$ 183 from CARE, in addition to participating in CARE’s community center’s psychosocial activities in Zarqa city, Jordan, and being referred by CARE to other organizations that provide medical and psychological assistance. Badriya has also been included in CARE’s vocational training sessions.
“My husband left from Europe in August… on the 27th… I forget the date because I am experiencing so much pressure and stress since he’s gone. Everything is put on my head now that he is gone. If he had found work here in Jordan he would have stayed but there is no work and life is hard here. He worked for 3 months as a paid volunteer with CARE and volunteered with other aid agencies and then he couldn’t find any other work. He borrowed money from everyone he knows to raise enough for the passage but he still ran out of money is Serbia and I had to borrow another 500 JOD ($500 US) from a friend to send to him.
The last time I spoke to him was two weeks ago. He’s feeling very stressed and not doing well there. He thought he would be able to work straight away but he is not doing anything – just eating and sleeping and he is far from his family. He has too much time on his hands, he is someone who likes to always be doing things and now all he does is think. He had a stroke in the camp when he first arrived because of all the thinking and stress and was taken to hospital. He thought he would get to Germany and work and send money but this is not the reality. He is a very proud man and this is very hard on him. His goal was to work and make life better for his family in Jordan. We are facing so many problems here and so many bills. We face stress here and he faces stress there.
My 15 year old son Yazan is now working 12 hours a day for 5 JOD ($5 US) in a bakery just to try and help pay the rent. I am cooking from home for neighbours sometimes as well – whatever work we can do, we do it. Our rent is 120 JOD ($120 US) a month and last month the electricity was cut because we couldn’t pay the rent and our landlord had to lend us 50 JOD ($50 US) to turn it back on. My 12 year old son is asking to quit school so he can help work, but I don’t want any more of my children to leave school and miss out on an education. It is better for them to study and stay in school. I haven’t paid the rent for the last 3 months (and counting). I don’t even have 5 JOD ($5 US) in this whole house – imagine!
I wish my husband had stayed here and not gone to Germany. I regret our decision. If we can’t join him over there soon I feel like I will have to go back to Syria – I don’t want to go back, but we may be forced to. Everyone who I speak to who is still there tells me not to come back though – they tell me if you come back, you won’t eat – there is no bread in the whole country.
Photos by Lucy Beck/CARE.