august 2016
INSPIRE
“The camp was designed so there are roads and every tent is accessible by car, and there is space between every tent for fire prevention.” Kim lives in a two-bedroom apartment in Zahlé, the capital of the Beqaa Valley, sharing a room with four other people. It’s a little crowded, but it’s palatial compared to what the refugees endure, which is why strict sanctions are put in place to prevent them from entering the city. “All of the camps are outside the town and the Lebanese Army is very careful not to allow any of the refugees into the town proper,” she says. “We have a curfew from 8.30pm to 6am to stop the movement of people in the camps coming into town. It also stops people going into the camps.” Kim spends most of her time educating adults and children, and training volunteers. “Before I arrived, there were no English programs running in any of the camps in the whole valley and the refugees were desperate for education,” she says. “According to the Lebanese Government,
Syrian refugees can attend school in Lebanon but they won’t make any compensations for them. School in Lebanon is conducted in French and English and you’ve got children who haven’t been in school for four years, so the language barrier is the biggest hindrance.” Along with holding English classes, they also run a range of activities, sports and handicrafts with the aim of preparing the refugees for returning to Syria. “We need to help them so they can re-enter formal education and equip them with skills so they can show they have learnt something while they’ve been in the camps and upskilled,” she says. “The people in the Beqaa Valley are quite poor, they’re mostly from rural areas, some are gypsies, some are farmers, they’re the poorest of the poor. “These are the ones who haven’t been able to afford to work abroad and go to Europe, these are the ones who have been in a truck and fallen over the border. They’re a particularly different socio-economic group than the ones you see going to Europe. “We have people who arrive every day from Syria, you see new families coming in every day, but there are some who have been there for four years and nobody ever expected the war to last as long as it has. “A lot of these people have come over with nothing, they’ve got in the back of a truck with nothing, not a suitcase, a change of
KIM EDWARDS
“You go into a refugee camp and you expect it to be CONFRONTING with the poverty and hopelessness and despair, but what surprises you is their WARMTH and their smiles.” clothes, a family photo, they’ve literally lost everything. It’s very confronting. “It’s like a forgotten war and there are a lot of thoughts the war will move into Lebanon, there’s a lot of talk about that at the moment, it’s very de-stabilised. There’s a lot of concern.” But despite all this, hope prevails. “The education program has been really successful, when you walk into the camp now, everyone runs up and speaks in English. It’s made a huge impact on the level of hope. That’s what it’s all about.” To learn more, donate money or register to become a volunteer, visit www.gofundme.com/ kimedwards or email hope.mercy.lebanon@ gmail.com.
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