19 days see 30,000 Syrians arrive in Jordan

Jordan has received 30,022 Syrian refugees since the start of February, raising the number of injured Syrians in the country to 230, Brigade General Hassan Zayoud, commander of Jordan’s Border Guard Forces has said. Speaking Monday evening at a press tour organised by the Armed Forces, the commander said 2,500 refugees of all ages arrive daily, fleeing from the deteriorating security situation in Syria. Jordan has received 210,000 refugees since the beginning of the crisis nearly two years ago. The figures break down to 42 percent children, 36 percent women and 22 percent men. 56,000 Syrian refugees entered Jordan in January 2013 alone, Zayoud said, adding that the country has received 2,786 injured refugees over the duration of the conflict so far. Zayoud explained to the media personnel present, which included Arabstoday, that 45 border crossings, 25 collection points and 15 shelters are dotted along Jordan's 370-kilometre border with Syria, which the Armed Forces monitor "day and night." The refugee crisis has cost Jordan over 250,000 dinars which "added to the Armed Forces' budgetary burdens in addition to training, security and operations appropriations." This number is expected to double, the Boader Guard commander said, "especially in the uncertain winter weather" in addition to guards' salaries for working "around the clock." The commander mentioned the recent blizzard and rainstorm that the country has recently experienced which closed many crossings, causing refugees to use "extremely treacherous pathways" into the country, especially in northwestern areas. Boats were used to transport refugees in areas where water collected. Vehicles with treats were also used as the terrain and weather were inappropriate for the use of tyred vehicles. This, Zayoud said, required the Armed Forces command to deploy additional troops to help the border guards, which "doubled the Armed Forces' expenses several times" compared to last year's budget. All additional expenses, the commander said, were taken out of the Armed Forces' budget. The Royal Medical Services [RMS] have provided specialised medical personnel to the border frontline to treat refugees who require medical attention. Disabled refugees, the commander said, usually arrive in a bad condition, the situation back home having caused their health to deteriorate. This, the commander said, in addition to incidents when some refugees are pursued by a party of the conflict and killer at the border "making no distinction for children, pregnant women or the elderly, all day and all night," traumatising families who had fled the violence in the hope of bringing their children to safety. Injured people are sometimes carried into Jordan or driven in in civilian cars accompanied by other refugees and are taken to hospitals and medical centres for treatment. In some cases, injured people would have bled too much on the way out of Syria and day on the border. The Armed Forces secure transport for refugees and has had to deploy more buses of all sizes and military people carriers in order to accommodate the large "and sometimes surprising" influx. The massive arrivals, Zayoud said, have prompted Border Guard forces to open their own dormitories for the use of women and children as temporary shelters until transport vehicles can come back from Zaatari refugee camp and collect them. The Armed Forces is also coordinating procedures with international, Arab, foreign and local organisations "to ensure that Syrian refugees are afforded the best possible humanitarian services, especially with regard to military field hospitals" and procedures for these hospitals' entry in camps, their location and the provision of logistical and administrative support to them. The RMS have helped make some field hospitals permanent, the maj. gen. said, receiving a large number of serious injuries requiring high-standard medical care or difficult surgical interventions.