Jill Biden commends Jordan’s assistance to Syrian refugees

MAFRAQ — US Second Lady Jill Biden on Thursday praised Jordan’s humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees.

Biden’s remarks came during a field visit to the Zaatari Refugee Camp, some 90km northeast of Amman, and an elementary school for girls in the eastern Mafraq Governorate where she met with refugees, officials and students and listened to their concerns.

During a visit to Al Fadeen Elementary School in Mafraq, in which a large number of refugee students are enrolled, she spoke with students and teachers about the challenges facing them in the overcrowded facility.

In a briefing to Biden, the school’s principal and teachers said the facility is now “overcrowded”, with the number of students having doubled following the Syrian refugee influx into Mafraq, which is close to the border with Syria.

The educators cited Jordanian students’ acceptance of their Syrian classmates as a major challenge, explaining that the cultural similarity between Jordanians and Syrians has helped alleviate Jordanian students’ anxiety.

Responding to a question by Biden, the principal said “traumatised” Syrian students have undergone psychological therapy programmes, supported by USAID and other international organisations, to help them “forget the nightmares they had back home”.

Biden also toured the school’s labs and library, and spoke to students and parents who all commended US support to their refugee-burdened governorate.

In Zaatari Refugee Camp, which is home to 79,648 Syrians according to UNHCR, the US second lady checked on educational and health facilities, and toured the shopping centre.

The UN World Food Programme in Jordan has launched an iris scan payment system allowing Syrian refugees living in camps to purchase food items from local shops using the scan of their eye instead of cash, vouchers or credit cards.

Upon seeing the payment system being used, Biden said, “I have been in many refugee camps around the world. It is the first time I see this.”

After attending classes with students at the educational UNICEF-funded “Makani” (My Space) centre, she met with parents and elderly women at the camp.

The women told Biden that in general they face no challenges at the facility but they “miss home; their sons and relatives”.

In response to a question from Biden about the message they want her to take back to the US, one of the women said: “We need your assistance and help to restore security to our country and get rid of the Assad regime.”

“I will deliver your message tonight,” Biden said.

“I would like to thank the Jordanian government for its humanitarian efforts to the refugees. We have to end the Syrian war so that Syrians can go back home,” she told reporters.