Unrest and insecurity in Syria have led to a constant flow of Syrian refugees into neighbouring countries since March 2011. The harsh living conditions in the Domiz refugee camp make it difficult for the children and youth to readapt to their lives. With support from the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department, ACTED is making tireless efforts to provide children with adequate spaces where they can safely play and develop normally.
As of May 2013 around 96,300 Syrian refugees are located in Domiz camp, near the border with Syria in Northern Iraq. Most Syrian families have faced traumatic situations and are struggling to find a sense of normality in their life in Domiz camp. The lack of recreational activities for the camp’s youth, as well as the numerous hazards that children are facing in their day-to-day lives are examples of the obstacles faced by children to their normal development and psychological wellbeing.
With the European Union’s pledge to support ACTED and other partners through the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize, ACTED is currently implementing a project aiming at providing children and youth with daily access to recreational and educational activities, appropriate education and protection services as well as mobilising the local community and youth to promote child protection and peaceful reconciliation.
Providing space for a decent childhood
To this end, ACTED recently opened a Child Friendly Space and a Youth Friendly Space in the Domiz camp, offering the only two places where kids between the ages 5 to 15 can engage in supervised recreational and therapeutic activities.
Salama is 8 years old and moved in to the refugee camp back in December with her parents and 3 other younger siblings. She is one of 295 children registered to take part in the Child Friendly Space activities. “I like singing and coloring but I did not do that since we left home”, she told ACTED staff. “I colored and played with my brothers with our toys before but here we had not been able to do that before coming to the CFS.” Now that Salama attends the CFS activities, she and her brothers can once again play together in a safe and fully-equipped environment that is adapted to their needs.
ACTED will also shortly open a Child Protection Unit which employs socialised staff to manage cases of violence or child labor by coordinating with the other humanitarian actors across the camp.