Za’tari is a containment camp 12km from the Syrian–Jordanian border. It was opened in July 2012 to host Syrians fleeing the violence in their country. It was built for a capacity of 60,000 people, but at the time of my visit on March 18th, its population had topped 100,000 and was growing at nearly 5,000 a day. Syrians from Der’a and the surrounding countryside were fleeing the fighting in droves. Many of them were being displaced for a second time having previously moved from the pastoral region of the Jezirah of Syria which had been stricken by drought between 2006 and 2011.
Za'atari camp: a snapshot of a simmering crisis | Dawn Chatty
Blogs / articles
26 March 2013
Professor Dawn Chatty writes for Debating Development of her experience visiting the Za'atari camp, Jordan
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IRIN / Areej Abu Qudairi