More than six years of war in Syria have forced the displacement of millions. Jordan itself now hosts 650,000 registered refugees, more than a million according to the local authorities. In the Northern governorate of Irbid, 140,000 Syrians live in the host communities, trying to find some stability. MSF runs a Mother and Child Hospital there, providing ANC, PNC and NICU services for urban Syrian refugee families located in Irbid and adjacent areas. The project so far has seen the birth of 10,000 Syrian babies.
Irbid is located about 15 kilometers from the border between Jordan and Syria. With the escalation of the war, it is unlikely the babies born will ever get to identify with the country their identities are tied with. The stories coming from the hospital reveal the harsh reality of the Syrian refugees in Jordan and the difficulties to build an identity far from home. They are born in Jordan, but will they ever be Jordanian? They also bring to light the current integration issues Syrian families’ face. The Syrian children go to schools in separate times as Jordanian children. Will they stay in Jordan, or will they seek to go back to Syria? But to what end? These families still carry the weight of what they had witnessed on their journey from and continue as an entire generation to face identity, integration and economic access.