Cheese proves key to survival for Syrian refugee family amid pandemic

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Written by northsouth

Category: Immigration & Refugees

Published: 17 January 2021

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SAHBA, JORDAN - Syrian refugee Fatima Hussein Al Ahmad, a mother of four, lives on a farm with 50 other workers in Sahba, Jordan. COVID-19 travel restrictions meant that didn’t work for two months in 2020, and feeding her family became a daily struggle.

Ms. Al Ahmad and her husband pick peaches and tomatoes, alongside other Syrians, Jordanians and migrant workers. When she was unable to work due to the pandemic, she was forced to rely on her own resourcefulness to survive.

I came to Jordan with my family, with my brother and sister. We came here from Syria so we can work and to escape the problems. I got engaged to my husband here and we got married in Mafraq.

We would work in one place for a month. Then we would have to move to a different farm. We were tired because of all the moving around. It was very difficult.

A settled life disrupted

When we came to this farm, they gave us a caravan. We found that living in a caravan is better than living in a tent and it is cleaner for the children and for us. We are now settled at this farm. We stopped moving.

I have four children. In the morning, after housework, I leave the children with a relative and go to work on the farm with the other workers. I work from 7am until around 2pm and then I go back home to my children, because I have a baby girl; this is why I can’t work a full day at the farm.

When we first heard about the coronavirus, we were scared. I started watching the news, going online on my phone, and going on YouTube to learn how to protect myself. We bought all the essentials, so we didn’t have to leave the house and mix with others.

At the beginning of the outbreak, we were told that we could not congregate at work. I stopped working for two months.

We went through a difficult time. We had to borrow money from people. We had expenses to pay for. As a mother, I had to secure an income to buy my baby daughter milk and to meet my children’s needs.

Adapting to a new reality

I started doing all sorts of work. I helped my husband and the farm owner to take care of the livestock, and in return I was given a small amount of milk, which I used to make yoghurt and cheese. I sold my products in the town of Sabha and then would go to the pharmacy to buy baby milk for my daughter.

I also faced a lot of pressure at home. I had to cook, clean and disinfect the house twice a day. In the first couple of months of the virus, we couldn’t obtain enough bread, so I was baking bread for the children every two to three days.

When the caravan school (informal education centre) opened at the farm our six-year-old son started going there and he was there for four months. Then they stopped going because of the crisis and they started giving them schoolwork remotely. He knows the letters and numbers and he knows how to write his name.

There is a lot of collaboration between neighbours. All the people here at the camp help each other and give each other things.

After the lockdown ended, we were glad to go back to work, so that we can secure an income to meet our needs and our children’s needs. We are happy to be back at work.

The impact of COVID-19 on the global workforce

- According to an ILO study, almost half of the surveyed workers who were in employment before the COVID-19 outbreak were out of work during the early weeks of the crisis. The majority did not have any forms of savings.

- The farm where Fatima lives is one of 24 farms being targeted by the ILO since 2018 to enhance decent working conditions in the agriculture sector.

- Activities include providing families living on site with prefabricated houses, setting up workers’ committees, helping improve occupational safety and health, skills training, and supporting access to informal education for children on farms.

'Breakthrough': Saudi Arabia, Qatar to sign US-brokered deal to ease Gulf dispute

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Written by northsouth

Category: MENA

Published: 05 January 2021

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DOHA - Saudi Arabia and its allies are expected to sign a US-brokered deal with Qatar on Tuesday to end a year’s long rift between the Middle Eastern countries prompted by Doha's relations with Iran and alleged support for terror groups.

Citing an official familiar with the development, Reuters reported White House adviser Jared Kushner, aided by US State Department adviser Brian Hook and Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz, helped to broker the deal.

Under the agreement, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt will call off their blockade of Qatar; in exchange, Qatar will not pursue any lawsuits related to the blockade that was initiated in June 2017. Earlier this year, Qatar Airways revealed that it was seeking at least $5 billion in compensation over the blocked airspace.

Additionally, as part of the deal, all involved parties will be expected to cease their media campaigns against each other. In earlier, since-rejected demands issued by Saudi Arabia and company, Qatar was ordered to shut down Al Jazeera and its affiliated stations.

"This is the biggest breakthrough we've had to date," an unidentified senior Trump administration official told the Wall Street Journal. "It doesn't mean they will love each other and be best friends, but it does mean they will be able to work together."

The deal is expected to be signed by leaders on Tuesday during the annual Gulf Cooperation Council summit in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will be in attendance for the signing.

Kuwait, which served as a mediator during the talks, said during a televised announcement Monday that as part of the eased tensions, Saudi Arabia will open its air, land and sea borders with Qatar for the first time in three years starting on Monday night. Qatar's land border with Saudi Arabia has only been briefly opened so Qataris can perform the Islamic hajj pilgrimage.

"The Kuwaiti emir held phone talks on Monday night with the Qatari emir and the Saudi crown prince, who affirmed their commitment to strengthening brotherly relations between countries in the region," said Ahmed Nasser Al-Sabah, Kuwait's foreign minister. "They agreed to sign a pact at the end of the summit in Al Ula that will settle all conflict issues."

Sources told Axios the deal nearly "fell apart" over the weekend after a "last-minute miscommunication" sparked new tensions between Saudi and Qatari officials.

Despite allegations made by Saudi Arabia and its allies, Qatar has repeatedly denied that it supports terrorism. After the Arab bloc made its intentions regarding the blockade known in 2017, the Qatari Foreign Ministry issued a statement noting that there was "no legitimate justification" for the action.

Saudi Arabia becomes even worse human rights pariah

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Written by northsouth

Category: MENA

Published: 30 December 2020

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RIYADH - Saudi Arabia has jailed a prominent women's rights activist, Loujain al-Hathloul, despite a global outcry, including by European NGOs.

The court sentenced her to over five years in prison after she was arrested in 2018 for campaigning for women to have the right to drive cars.

This move has certainly aggravated Riyadh's human-rights pariah reputation, even though most EU states trade in arms and oil as normal with the Western ally.