Every day, we wake up at dawn on the call for prayers. The first problem we face is getting water, especially when it is still dark. We have to search for the nearest water tanks to get a supply to wash. We have to take two-gallon containers, walk for some distance in harsh weather conditions and queue for water – the whole thing takes over half an hour. Anything we want to get here requires queuing. Sometimes people get into disputes over queues.
I am responsible for the whole family. My mother looks after the place and my younger sisters and brother so I have to go and get food and drinks as well as everything else they need to live and to study. Mother gave me the responsibility and I believe I am up to it and can protect my family.
I send my younger brother, who is in the fifth grade, to the mosque every day to read and memorise Qur'an verses, thank God. But some mornings, he cries when the water is cold due to no electricity. I calm him down by saying that he should go and do the prayers at the mosque. He complains about the cold water but I try to calm him down.
My mother finds it difficult so I try to make it easier for her. My sisters and brother sometimes help me by going out to get water but it is not always available. The same applies to electricity and we have power cuts most of the time. It is very cold here – the kids got coats but I didn't. I don't mind – seeing my younger sisters and brother getting warm clothes is what matters most.
Breakfast is halaweh (sweets), olives and misabbahe (a mix of chickpeas, olive oil, lemon, garlic and fried bread). My mother or younger brother are responsible for getting breakfast in the morning. I teach my brother how to be reliable. He usually walks for over an hour to get just one pack of bread. It is not always enough but, thank God, we are surviving.
When we arrived, the weather and living conditions were bad. We couldn't adapt to the tents because they were not comfortable. There were no services available. For four months, we had very little to live on. Now, it is better and the camp's authority has provided us with many things – food and drinks and even clothes. Thank God. We feel more settled here now.
I started looking for work straight away after arriving here. After a while, I became a assistant teacher at the Save the Children kindergarten, thank God. I had been registered to study nursing in Syria – it had been both my and my father's wish.
I walk to the kindergarten at 7.30am or 8am. It's a long walk but I enjoy it because I am walking to a place that I like. I bring my younger sister too. At the kindergarten, we sing and play together. I consider the children like my sisters and brothers and look after them. I enjoy working with them and don't get tired.
I get home after 3pm and tidy up – washing the dishes and sorting out the kitchen. My mother is tired after working all day at home and going out to get water or other things for the family. She is tired most of the time. So I sometimes help her with the cooking if we can find gas for the stove.
At the camp there are small shops selling sweets, clothes and toys. Now that I have my salary from Save the Children I can buy nice things and food for the family. My younger sisters and brother are delighted with this.
I help my youngest sister with learning songs for kindergarten. I help my other sister with her homework, and my brother with reading Qur'an verses. Even when school is closed I get them to do homework daily. My sister, who is in the eighth grade, keeps reading her books so that she does not forget what she learned.
We have dinner at 6pm. We have our usual meal: rice and beans with lentil soup. We have to wait until we have power before we can cook. Then I wash the dishes and utensils and sort out the kitchen.
Sometimes someone will visit, like my uncle. He and his family live in the camp too. We have tea and talk and play with their kids. Last night I called my older brothers in Syria and asked about the situation back there. They told me things are still the same with bombings and fighting. I asked them to come to the camp because, as a woman, I need my brothers around. But they said they wouldn't leave Syria. So I told them not to worry because my uncle looks after us here.
We go to sleep early around 9pm because usually we have nothing to do – we have no TV and there are frequent power cuts. It is so bad. Imagine, six people with a mattress each in a small place – a room packed with clothes, food items, boxes, etc.
You can't compare life here to that back in Syria. There, we had everything
available at home – water, electricity, gas and so on. Here we have a tent in a
camp with one hour of electricity in 10 hours. It's like comparing the sky and
the earth.
I wish the whole world would
listen to what I have told you. They should know about our suffering. We are refugees living in tents which
get flooded when it rains and very hot in summer. The weather is harsh. I wish
the world would support us and our families back in Syria. We want to get back
soon. I am confident that the world can help us get back home as soon as
possible, God willing.
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Raneen was speaking to Nicole Itano of Save the Children.