Gathered on the desert floor, the Askar family chants prayers for their 1-year-old daughter Jawahir, who died of malnutrition and is buried beneath the sands of their informal refugee camp far from their Syrian hometown.
“She was born in a camp and buried near the camp,” her father Mohammed Askar recounts, still in anguish over her Feb. 24 death. “I wish the circumstances were different and I could have saved my daughter, but we are poor and powerless and we have only God with us.”
In this Tuesday, July 21, 2015 photo, Syrian refugee Kutana al-Hamadi, 24, tends to her son Almunzir, 7 months, covered with a mosquito net, whom she claims is suffering from malnutrition, at their tent in an informal tented settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. “My son is too weak; my body doesn’t produce milk (and) … we can’t afford buying milk,” says Kutana al-Hamadi. “We survived the barrel bombs in Syria but I’m afraid we won’t survive the lack of health and food.” (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
Of the 4 million refugees who fled Syria’s grinding civil war, it is the conflict’s youngest exiles, like Jawahir, who often bear the brunt of its woes.
More than 10,000 children have died in the four-year conflict, while over 2.8 million in and out of the country don’t go to school, according to the U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF. Many suffer emotional problems from their experiences, while others get pressed into working to support their families, who struggle to have enough to eat.
Aid agencies have asked for $4.5 billion for 2015 to help refugees, but have been forced to slash support programs because of large funding gaps, which had a devastating effect on the amount of food aid coming.
In this Saturday, July 25, 2015 photo, a Syrian refugee girl fills water from a tanker to her tent at an informal tented settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
“Today, parents have to make decisions that no parent around the globe should be making,” says Joelle Eid, spokeswoman for the U.N.’s World Food Program in Jordan’s capital, Amman. “They are forced to skip meals. They are accumulating a lot of debt. They are moving their children from school and even sending their children to work.”
The WFP says it needs $139 million to continue helping Syrian refugees in the Mideast through September. But even with the aid now available, some don’t receive it as they haven’t registered with the U.N. or live in informal refugee camps, like those in Mafraq along Jordan’s northern border with Syria.
Most of those in Mafraq choose to live here to be able to work at nearby farms, chaffing at the restrictions put on them in formal, U.N.-administered refugee camps. But even those salaries are not enough to support them.
In this Sunday, July 26, 2015 photo, a Syrian refugee girl sits with her mother while cooking on a fire inside their tent at an informal tented settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. Most of those in Mafraq choose to live here to be able to work at nearby farms, chaffing at the restrictions put on them in formal, U.N.-administered refugee camps. But even those salaries are not enough to support them. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
“My son is too weak; my body doesn’t produce milk (and) … we can’t afford buying milk,” says Kutana al-Hamadi, whose 7-month-old son Almunzir suffers from malnutrition. “Our lives are miserable with no food, we only have this not-clean water to fill our stomachs with.”
“We survived the barrel bombs in Syria but I’m afraid we won’t survive the lack of health and food,” she added.
Another mother, Ruqayya Ahmad, says she can’t afford to take her 8-day-old daughter Hikmiyya to the doctor to have a rash she suffers from treated. Meanwhile, mother Naela Mohammed also worries about being able to nurse her child while she herself doesn’t have enough to eat.
“It’s a sure thing my 4-month daughter will be paying the price,” Mohammed says. “She’s so tiny and weak.”
Here are a series of images by Muhammed Muheisen, The Associated Press’ chief photographer for the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan, showing the challenges faced daily by Syrian refugee children and their families.
Click on any image below to launch the gallery.
In this Sunday, July 26, 2015 photo, Syrian refugee infant Mohammed Ali, 43 days, sleeps inside a mosquito net at his family’s tent at an informal tented settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. Of the 4 million refugees who fled Syria’s grinding civil war, it is the conflict’s youngest exiles who often bear the brunt of its woes. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Sunday, July 26, 2015 photo, Syrian refugee Wazeera Elaiwi, 29, breast-feeds her newly born son Mohammed, 43 days, inside her tent at an informal settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Wednesday, July 22, 2015 photo, Syrian refugee Eidah Hassoun, 36, sits with her children inside their tent at an informal tented settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Wednesday, July 22, 2015 photo, a Syrian refugee girl holds her younger sister while her mother, right, washes clothes inside their tent at an informal settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Saturday, July 25, 2015 photo, Syrian refugee Joriya Hatem, 20, bathes her son Mahmoud, 1, in a bucket inside their tent at an informal tented settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Sunday, July 26, 2015 photo, a Syrian refugee woman sits on the ground next to her infant suffering from a high temperature due to an infection in her throat, outside their tent at an informal settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. Most of those in Mafraq choose to live here to be able to work at nearby farms, chaffing at the restrictions put on them in formal, U.N.-administered refugee camps. But even those salaries are not enough to support them. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Monday, July 27, 2015 photo, clothes of Syrian refugee children hang out to dry outside a tent at an informal settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Wednesday, July 22, 2015 photo, Syrian refugee Hannan Mohammed, 12, holds a picture of herself and her sister Warda, 5, and the youngest Jawahir, 1, who died last February after suffering from chronic malnutrition, outside their tent at an informal tented settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Thursday, July 23, 2015 photo, Syrian refugee Mohammed Askar, 39, touches the grave of his daughter Jawahir, 1, who died last February after suffering from chronic malnutrition, while he and his wife Hasnah, 37, and his daughter Hannan, 12, and son Wael, 4, visit her grave, close to their informal tented settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. “She was born in a camp and buried near the camp,” her father recounts, still in anguish over her Feb. 24 death. “I wish the circumstances were different and I could have saved my daughter, but we are poor and powerless and we have only God with us.” (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Saturday, July 25, 2015 photo, pregnant Syrian refugee Huda Alsayil, 20, who passed her 9th month of pregnancy, is reflected in a mirror while posing for a portrait inside her tent at an informal tented settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Wednesday, July 22, 2015 photo, a Syrian refugee boy drinks water from a tube at an informal tented settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Sunday, July 19, 2015 photo, Syrian refugee child, 4-month-old Marwa al-Hassan, her face covered with flies, sleeps on the ground outside her family’s tent to avoid the heat trapped inside, at an informal tented settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Wednesday, July 22, 2015 photo, a Syrian refugee girl looks through the hole of a makeshift school at an informal tented settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
In this Tuesday, July 21, 2015 photo, Syrian refugee Naela Mohammed, 31, changes the clothes of her daughter Asmahan, 4 months, at their tent in an informal tented settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. Naela worries about being able to nurse her child while she herself doesn’t have enough to eat. “It’s a sure thing my 4-month daughter will be paying the price,” Mohammed says. “She’s so tiny and weak.” (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
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AP Images is the world’s largest collection of historical andcontemporary photos. AP Images provides instant access to AP's iconic photos and adds new content every minute of every day from every corner of the world, making it an essential source of photos and graphics for professional imagebuyers and commercial customers. Whether your needs are for editorial, commercial, or personal use, AP Images has the content and the expert sales team to fulfill your image requirements. Visit apimages.com to learn more.
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