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8 April 2003 by Marina Penderis, Jordan Red Crescent volunteer; photographs by Tanya Habjouqa, JRCS volunteer, and Thorkell Thorkesson Baby Entisar was born in Baghdad in the first week of the war in Iraq – her mother, Miriam, waited to give birth before leaving the Iraqi capital with her newborn daughter and two-year-old son, Mahmood. The mother and her children crossed the border into Jordan in the middle of the night - a time when temperatures in the desert can drop to below zero. They were taken to a camp run by the Jordan Red Crescent Society (JRCS) with support from the International Federation. Here JRCS volunteer, Kirstie Campbell, spent most of the first night with them, keeping an eye on the tiny new arrival. "Mahmood was so distressed at leaving his father behind in Baghdad that he cried himself sick throughout the night," says Kirstie. The camp where Miriam and the children are staying accommodates third country nationals (TCNs), non-Iraqis who had been living or working in Iraq. By the time Entisar and her mother arrived there in the second week of the war, there were about 260 other TCNs in the camp. Thus far, more than 750 have already moved on to their country of origin. Entisar quickly became one of the camp's best known residents, with medical staff, JRCS volunteers and the camp community all keeping an eye on her and her mother. When Miriam developed a fever a week after giving birth, the JRC rushed her to the hospital in the nearby town of Ruweishid, where she spent the night. Keeping mother and children together, Entisar and Mahmood went along. Entisar herself, however, has been very healthy. "She looks good and is doing marvellously well. Surprisingly so, considering what both baby and mother have been through," says Dr. Boon Li from Mercy Malaysia, a non-governmental organisation that works with the Jordan Red Crescent to provide medical services in the camp. Her brother Mahmood has settled into camp life and is frequently spotted at the camp recreational centre. While Entisar is currently the youngest child in the camp, she is by no means the only one. Since the start of the war there has been an average of about 40 children in the camp at any given time. JRC volunteer, Rania Abu-Zachra, who looks after the mothers and children, talks about the need for to support them all. "The mothers' main concern is their children. One of the most important ways in which we can help them is by making sure their children are well taken care of," she says. Related links: Iraq: humanitarian crisis Jordan: appeals, updates and reports Make a donation |
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