Syrian refugee children take part in Eid activities in Jezzine

Six-year-old Palestinian-Syrian Louay Mustafa tries to overcome his nostalgia for his hometown Aleppo by making new friends to replace the ones he left behind. Louay, who broke his hand when he fell while playing, says: “The atmosphere is nicer back home in Haydarieh, but the shelling and killing is frightening. I don’t want to die, I want to live.” Although Louay doesn’t know how to read yet – his schooling has been delayed due to his displacement – he knows how to count well. Meanwhile, sisters Rama and Rana, who were displaced from Baba Amr in Homs, are playing board games. Rama interrupts their game to say: “The trees here are beautiful and the manqoushe is delicious, and I want to play a lot.” Like Louay, both Rama and her sister are currently not attending school. However, Rama highlighted that she is eager to return to school. Louay, Rama and Rana all attended a day of entertainment organized by the humanitarian organization Antej on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr. The event was held as part of an effort to provide care for young refugees of the ongoing crisis in Syria and was aimed at alleviating the psychological effects and scars of war and displacement. Approximately 100 refugee children, who fled with their families to the city of Sidon and its neighboring areas, attended the festivities held in Bkassine garden in Jezzine. The Eid event was sponsored by the mufti of Sidon, Salim Sousan, in cooperation with a number of humanitarian organizations, including Right to Play, U.K. Care for Children and the union of aid organizations that provide relief for the Syrian people. The day began with the distribution of presents and toys to the children followed by breakfast, with the organizations’ representatives holding the event. Afterward the children were divided into groups to participate in entertainment programs, contests and games. They also took part in a psychological support program under the supervision of the union of aid organizations. The head of Antej, Salah Eddine Arkadan, expressed hope that the current Syrian crisis will be resolved soon. “On this day of celebration, we wanted to offer entertainment to Sidon’s guests, our Syrian brothers, and also to offer them best wishes for a prosperous future,” he said. He thanked all the organizations and individuals participating in the alleviation of the refugees’ suffering. For his part, the representative of Sidon’s mufti addressed a heartfelt statement to the Syrian refugee children, giving them his best wishes and stressing the importance of cooperative work. Meanwhile, the representative of Right to Play, Neamat Hariri, emphasized the purpose of the day, saying that it includes a number of activities and games to help the children feel the joy of Eid and relieve them of the psychological distress from which they’ve been suffering following their displacement from their homes. “We have felt the joy and happiness in their eyes, and the hope that they will soon return home to their friends and peers,” Hariri said. However, even at the relaxed event, the children’s anxiety was never far away. As they played beneath Jezzine’s pines, the sound of Israeli planes flying over the area momentarily interrupted the fun and supervisors had to reassure the children that they had nothing to fear. Convinced, Samar Shebbani, aged 7, who was displaced from Deraa, said: “We escaped the shelling and the destruction to a safe country. “I want to play so that I don’t die,” she continued. “Many of my friends were killed. I hate the color red because it reminds me of blood and death.” Meanwhile, in Majdalyoun Sidon MP Bahia Hariri received a delegation from the union of aid organizations. The delegation briefed her on the Syrian refugees’ situation in the city and its camps, as well as on its relief works and the difficulties it is facing, especially with the increasing number of refugees flocking to the city and the need to provide shelter for them. Hariri promised to follow up on these issues, especially the provision of medical, social and financial care for the refugees and the securing of places for refugee children in schools. The MP will also follow up on the issues of completing residency paperwork with the Lebanese authorities and securing refugees’ protection.