Paul Calvert spoke with Saleem Anfous from Immanuel Church in Bethlehem

Syrian refugees

Paul: And how were you received by the refugees?

Saleem: They were very welcoming. The church that we work with there visit the homes regularly, so with their help we were able to go there and be introduced, you know, "We are from Palestine and we are coming here to support and encourage you. We are coming to help you and give you hope".

Paul: Are the refugees happy to receive aid from Christians?

Saleem: Yes, we have heard a lot from the people we went and visited that they are very thankful for the church there. The church is one of many either Christian or Muslim organisations in the Mafraq area where they support the refugees. The church has been doing very well by not just giving aid and support, but also visiting them regularly to make sure that they are ok. They are building good relationship with the refugees and they love the church, the people and the community there because they know that they are friends and not just another organisation that wants to give aid.

Paul: Have the Syrians that are there lost everything?

Saleem: A lot of the families when we asked them, where's your home? Or, do you have any news about your house? A lot of them told us that all of what they had in their homes had been stolen and some of their homes had been destroyed.

Paul: I imagine a lot of them have seen death and destruction as well?

Saleem: Oh yes, a lot of them told us stories of either really close relatives that have been killed, or situations they have been through where they have been beaten or seen things; its been rough and hard for them.

Paul: What sort of stories do they tell you?

Saleem: One of the families we went and visited had a boy about eight months old. They moved from Syria six months ago and told us that at one of the military checkpoints they were passing because of the war, they stopped them and the men there put the baby on the ground and took all his clothes off, as a punishment to the family because they were leaving their homes. When the mother was trying to protect her baby they actually with the gun, started beating her up, because she was trying to do that.

Paul: Is it easy for these refugees to get out of Syria into other countries?

Saleem: It seems like it is easy because they can, but it's not easy because the travelling itself is not easy. One of the families we visited told us he was still waiting for his sister to come. The day that we arrived, his sister came and they told us that it has been 11 days that they had no contact with his sister and her family. When she told us her story, we heard that for 11 days she was travelling with no contact with anybody and she was literally finding bread on the ground and dipping it in water and feeding it to her children just so she could survive those 11 days, so that she could come to Jordan.

Paul: Do some of those refugees still have family members in Syria and I presume they don't know how their family members are?

Saleem: Some of them do have some contact, but many don't know how they are doing. One of the families, the mother said she still has two boys living in Syria and for about a year she doesn't know anything about them.