A few weeks ago a journalist and a photographer visited the Medair programme in Jordan to gather stories and pictures for publication to mark the 5th anniversary of the Syria crisis. As well as getting articles published in their home country of the Netherlands the stories have been picked up by other media outlets such as Al Jazeera.
One of these articles (which you can see here) focusses on three women: Jamila, Umm Mohammed and Shemkha. All are single mothers struggling to bring up their children and keep their families together in a country that is not their own. When I read this article it brought home to me again the scale of the human tragedy that has unfolded over the last five years.
When you read and hear about the huge numbers of refugees who have fled Syria it is easy to forget (or to try not to think) that each one of those people is not so different from you or I. They have families that they love and that they work hard to provide for. They have hopes and dreams for themselves and for their children. They live in communities sharing their lives with friends and neighbours. They know what it is to experience moments of great joy and, increasingly, moments of terrible loss and sadness. They have just had the misfortune to be caught up in events that they have no control over and their lives have been turned upside down.
Refugees are people too.
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