Allow me to begin by shedding some light on my personal experience based on our day visit to a refugee camp.
We started the morning with a visit to Al Marj's municipality, where we casually ended up discussing the situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Following the mayor's visit, we went to one of the refugee camps where we, surprisingly enough, enjoyed ourselves immensely through music, dance and games with the Syrian kids. We all felt thankful for the genuine smile on every kid's face. Their energy and love was truly what one would describe as unconditional.
The shock came when we decided to start sharing some donated items from Malta, including games for kids, sweets and some clothes. All of a sudden from a lovable smile, sharing, playing and dancing together it ended in a bitter experience with arguments and crying from the kids. Here we felt the effect of the materialistic world. It was our third time in the camp playing, dancing and running with the kids, however just as soon as we started giving out free stuff to everyone, their behaviour changed and the simplicity by which they stole our hearts earlier was now tampered!
And now here I am writing my thoughts about the experience... from four different angles:
1.The Mayor for the Village of Al Marj
The man we met in the morning is an aspiring politician who has a vision for his citizens. Upon being asked about the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon - where for every local citizen the refugees have doubled - he answered with a sense of responsibility but also with an open heart. He mentioned the problematic effects which such camps are leaving on the other Lebanese citizens, especially on the infrastructure and services such as the horrible situation of rubbish and waste around the area. Upon their calculations and statistics, the municipality states that the refugees are earning funds and different aid from a number of organisations which should relieve them from the current situation. This contrasts the expense that the refugees are causing to the municipality.
I understood his perspective as being a man who would like to help, however the system is ruining control of both camps and his village. Or perhaps, could it be that the politician's lacking of direct personal involvement within such scenarios, rendering him incapable of knowing the exact needs of the lower class or refugees?
2. The Media Perspective
Here is where I feel the most pain. The media has a tendency of focusing on the macro scale and zoning things out. As pointed out by the Mayor earlier on, features on camps usually focus only on a particular face showing mercy and suffering. In his perspective, a lot of other facets are being left out including ones which show the truth, hiding the necessities that these camps truly need.
3. The Refugee point of view...
One wish I had in the camp today was to actually put myself in their shoes. I somewhat ached to understand their faces and what they feel once they see groups like us approaching with free stuff... "Why are they here? Are they feeling sorry for me?" Or would they be very grateful for anything that one shares with them. If I am a refugee I wouldn't want people to pity me!
4. The agara perspective
This was discussed in our evaluation as well since everyone had been struck by some sort of experience. Here we understood one of agara's main values, that of walking together with a community, developing a sustainable project on a long term with the aim of learning and improving the life of the individual. This gives contrast between the actual project which we are building with Keen International and the visit to the camps yesterday.
To be honest I felt very confused on our way out from the camp. These four perspectives rushed through my head, colliding with each other and haunting me all day...But I shall leave the conclusion in your hands... if there could ever be one!
Adrian Cassar