In its fifth year, the horrors of the Syrian war has killed more than 250,000 people. Many of those killed were fathers, and the lasting affects of the war can be see on the Syrian children who now find themselves orphaned.
Funded by the Maram Foundation (a U.S.-based aid group), Bayti (“home” in Arabic) is an orphanage in the Turkish border town of Reyhanli, where the Syrian refugee population has exploded in the past few years. Nearby, on the Syrian side of the border, is the Atmeh Refugee Camp where many of the children lived prior to the orphanage.
There are currently eight orphanages in Reyhanli but Nihad Abdi, Director at Bayti, says that is not nearly enough. “There are so many children that need our help. But we can’t take anymore,” says Ms. Abdi. “Most of them can remember clearly how their fathers used to hug them and kissed them. And some of them remember how their fathers were killed in front of them.”
She says the children struggle with the horrors that they have witnessed. One child watches a video on YouTube of the death of his father over and over again. There is a psychotherapist on staff who helps the most troubled children develop coping skills. “It takes a lot of effort to adapt to a new life,” says Ms. Abdi. “They have endured hard times.”