Sunita Menon/Gulf News Photo Caption lead in Ahmad a teenaged Syrian is severely diabetic and was brought to the UAE feild hospital in Mafraq by his family in an unconscious state. His family is also one among the 200,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan. Credit-Sunita Menon
By Rania Moussly, Staff Reporter GULF NEWS
Amman: The UAE government is set to open a fully equipped Syrian refugee camp in Jordan to accommodate a mass exodus of civilians fleeing an escalating civil war at home.
Majid Sultan Mohammad Bani Suleiman, Commander of the UAE Rescue Mission in Jordan, spoke to Gulf News on Tuesday at the UAE-Jordan Red Crescent Field Hospital in the hamlet of Mafraq – approximately 20km from the Syrian border.
“ This is one of the worst situations I have ever seen ”
Mohammad Bani Suleiman, Commander of the UAE Rescue Mission in Jordan
“The preparations to open the Rabaeh Al Sarhan camp, about 20km away from Mafraq, are currently underway and will be open soon,” he said. “We don’t have a specific date yet but it will be a modern facility catering to displaced Syrian families – made up of caravans with playgrounds, a hospital and much more.”
The UAE Rescue Mission has been in Jordan for more than a month now, responding to an increasingly severe Syrian humanitarian crisis.
“This is one of the worst situations I have ever seen, it is extremely hard for the Syrian families,” he said. “They have nothing, no food, water, beds, blankets, nothing and now the cold winter is coming, so it is our duty to secure what they need.”