UAE doctors to provide psychological support to Syrian refugees in Jordan

Plans to introduce psychological support programmes are under way at Mrajeeb Al Fhood refugee camp in Jordan

The Emirates Red Crescent has provided support to two million Sudanese. Reuters

Doctors from the UAE will provide psychological support for refugees living in a camp jointly run by the Emirates and Jordan.

Volunteer doctors from Emirates Red Crescent discussed the plans for the programmes on Sunday during their visit to Mrajeeb Al Fhood refugee camp in Jordan.

The camp, located some 65 kilometres North-East of Amman, is for refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war.

The ERC team also discussed plans to conduct surveys with the aim of diagnosing the mental health of the children and adults living in the camp. The results will help the doctors provide behavioural, educational and developmental treatment and rehabilitation services for the camp’s youth, in co-operation with United Nations, and international relief organisations working in the camp.

The visit began with an introductory presentation by Mohammed Al Mansouri, director of the camp, about the health, treatment, educational, social and entertainment services provided by the camp to the Syrian refugees.

He said the purpose of the Emirati doctors' visit is to explore solutions to provide clinical psychological support to the camp's residents and those affected by war.

A team from the Sharjah Charity Association, led by its Director of Projects and Orphanages Administration, also visited the camp.

Mr Al Mansouri said the aim of their visit is to promote co-operation and humanitarian partnerships between the association and the camp, to improve their services and fulfil the needs of the refugees.

Last year, The National visited the camp — which was home to 7,000 Syrian refugees at the time.

A Syrian man living at the camp spoke of his trauma.

“If I, a fully grown man, wake up in the middle of the night thinking about the horrors of when they started bombing my home in Homs, how do you think these boys are? Every single one has been scarred,” said Firas Al Horani, 53.

His neighbour, Manaf Fuad has, on many occasions, had to come to his home in the middle of the night to calm him.

“Sometimes, he lives it all over again, the atrocities that we went through,” he said.

“But we’re all here under the light of God and we’re all here to help each other and better the lives of our children, to make sure they continue school.”