Syrian refugees in northern Jordan
We've been in Jordan now for over a week; it's been a crazy-busy 8-9 days already: orienting students to Amman and Jordan and their Homestays; starting Arabic classes; guest lectures; and a quick trip to the Dead Sea as well. Yesterday, we visited a Syrian refugee community of around 200 people in the north of Jordan, near Mafraq. We were asked to set up a "community center" in the form of a UNHCR ("UN Refugee agency") tent. It was a simple task, given the eagerness of so many NU and Project GO students. We accomplished it in less than an hour - and our students were asking to do more ... "what next?" they asked, hoping that we could contribute even more than we just did. But that was it - the Syrians have so little already, and our efforts were so minimal, yet the end result is a nice tent for young kids to hang out and play, draw, or do whatever they and their parents want them to do. After our visit to the informal camp, including sever...