Top EU diplomat spends a night with refugees in a camp in Jordan

No diplomat ever did this in the over ten years of Zaatari refugee camp. No Ambassador ever spent a night there, sleeping in a creaking bed in a freezing metal container instead of a comfortable king-sized bed in the spacious bedroom of a fine residence. No Ambassador had to walk across a dusty space from the container similar to the ones inhabited by refugees to a shared washroom.

Maria Hadjitheodosiou, EU Ambassador to Jordan, did just that in Zaatari Refugee Camp, temporary home to under 80,000 refugees from Syria. Following the motto “Long night of refugees”, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, had arranged an intimate encounter with a refugee family over dinner and breakfast as well as a night walk through the camp for her and leading journalist Dana Sharayri, Head of Roya TV’s English service.

No diplomat ever did this in the over ten years of Zaatari refugee camp. No Ambassador ever spent a night there, sleeping in a creaking bed in a freezing metal container instead of a comfortable king-sized bed in the spacious bedroom of a fine residence. No Ambassador had to walk across a dusty space from the container similar to the ones inhabited by refugees to a shared washroom.

Maria Hadjitheodosiou, EU Ambassador to Jordan, did just that in Zaatari Refugee Camp, temporary home to under 80,000 refugees from Syria. Following the motto “Long night of refugees”, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, had arranged an intimate encounter with a refugee family over dinner and breakfast as well as a night walk through the camp for her and leading journalist Dana Sharayri, Head of Roya TV’s English service.

Ambassador Hadjitheodosiou, too, heard about the hopes and challenges when she had dinner with Hisham Srahan (54), his wife, children and grandchildren in their containers. They had fled to Jordan ten years ago. A former owner of several sweet shops in Syria, Hisham now runs a grocery store in the camp. Their son Hussein (27), a father of three by now, uses his work permit to earn some money on nearby farms.

Both visitors spent the night in UNHCR-provided containers while stray dogs kept barking. In the early morning, they had breakfast with “their” refugee families. Later, UNHCR asked both sides what they took away from the unique encounter. “For a while”, Hisham said, “we thought we were forgotten, but after the visit of the Ambassador, we felt that refugees still had the attention of the international community”. The Ambassador admitted that it had been “a very emotional experience” to be hosted by “very brave, very dignified” people: “They are not forgotten!”

Dana Sharayri, the journalist, found it “eye-opening: Working as a journalist, it has always been about figures, donors, costs. Now, they are just people for me”, she said. “I’ve been to Zaatari before, but this time, I saw faces”, she added. Ambassador Hadjitheodosiou also gained new insights: “I learned from refugees last night and this morning, how important resilience is, and how important it is for them that we are there for them – caring.”

The journalist had a similar experience in the family she visited: “They have their every-day struggles, and yet, they are still very strong and very determined on their dreams.”

Maria Hadjitheodosiou even took away a message from her encounters: “I want to share with everybody that we need to make sure that these people do not lose the focus on their families, on educating their children. It is part of our responsibility as international community to keep this hope alive.”

See what they had to say here: https://youtube.com/shorts/VngkD_g5dYo?feature=share