From war in Aleppo to peace in Azraq camp, Abdelrazzak’s story
Nearly four years ago, Abdelrazzak’s life took an unexpected turn. His hometown of Aleppo - one of the world’s most celebrated historical cities - was engulfed by conflict, forcing him to flee to Jordan with his wife, two daughters and their newborn baby.
The 29-year-old construction worker left everything, including his mother, behind. Shortly after arriving in Jordan, he heard that his home was completely destroyed in an airstrike. To make matters worse, he has not heard from many of his relatives since he left.
An uncertain journey
With three young daughters, the journey to the Syrian-Jordanian border via a pickup truck was no easy feat. It took them more than 24 hours to reach a location near the Jordanian border where they could set up camp and wait. It was not until a month later, that they were able to enter Jordan and move into Azraq camp, the second largest camp in Jordan, currently home to more than 30,000 refugees.
“In Jordan, I feel like I’m home surrounded by Syrians who have been through the same struggle,” Abdelrazzak said. “Living in Azraq camp is definitely better than living in my village during the war but I do miss the place I grew up in and wonder if I’ll ever have the chance to go back again, even as a visitor.”
Since moving to Azraq camp, Abdelrazzak’s family has received food assistance from WFP , through an electronic food cards. Like a pre-paid debit card, these cards can be used to buy food from the supermarket. Recently, WFP introduced a new, more innovative system for food assistance that uses cutting edge iris scan technology.
Buying food with the blink of an eye!
This Iris scan system is very convenient for Abdelrazzak as he doesn’t even have to remember to bring his card while rounding up his three rowdy children to go shopping. He can buy food with the blink of an eye. Once his eye is scanned, the system automatically communicates with the registration database to confirm Abdelrazzak’s identity, checks his account balance, confirms the purchase and prints out a receipt — all within seconds!
Every month Abdelrazzak receives a text message on his mobile phone, informing him that his family’s food assistance entitlement has been deposited to his account.
The first thing they buy is milk for their youngest daughter and their favourite foods, like rice, oil, sugar and vegetables. If there is any money left, they buy chicken. Usually they can only afford to buy chicken twice a month, so those family dinners are a special occasion.
A connection to home
Abdelrazzak worries about his mother who is still in war-torn Syria. He tries to call her as often as possible to make sure that she is okay. She tells him about the situation in their village and that it is not safe for his family to return. He wishes he could have the opportunity to immigrate to Europe or Canada to secure a better life for his daughters. Abdelrazzak is not considering going back to Syria anytime soon or at least not before the security situation gets better.
Abdelrazzak is one of thousands of Syrian refugees in Jordan who received food assistance from WFP, thanks to generous contributions from Canada.
