January 13, 2016

Refugees Need New Places to Live—and Jobs When They Get There

Four years ago the Zaatari refugee camp in northern Jordan did not exist. Today, housing about 80,000 Syrian refugees just miles from the international border, it is one of Jordan’s largest cities. It’s also emblematic of the continuing crisis that has pushed more than 4 million Syrians to flee their country and displaced more than 7.5 million civilians internally.

On a visit to the Zaatari camp this month I glimpsed a few of the stories behind the statistics.

At a health clinic in nearby Mafraq, a Syrian woman told of her husband and son’s attempt to reach Turkey and employment beyond. The men were captured by ISIS and subjected to three weeks of interrogation; the group released them only when her husband answered that the purpose of life is to glorify God. Another woman spoke of her brother who tried to flee ISIS-controlled territory and was arrested. His captors sentenced him to death as an example to any who would seek escape, and he avoided execution only when an ISIS judge showed last-minute leniency.

Read the full article on Time.com.