LEBANON / SYRIA INFANT REFUGEE

Just ten days old, Syrian infant Mohammed is already experiencing the harshness of refugee life. Living with his family in a warehouse without furniture, natural light or permanent heat, he is already battling his first cold. UNHCR

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:03
• Production Date: 29 January 2016
• Asset Language: Arabic
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES - UNHCR
• Subject Topical: REFUGEE CAMPS
• Geographic Subject: SYRIA
• MAMS Id: 1555430
• Parent Id: 1555430
• Alternate Title: unifeed1601429g

Description

STORY: LEBANON / SYRIA INFANT REFUGEE
TRT: 02:03
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / NATS

DATELINE: 25 JANUARY 2016, MERYATA, NORTH LEBANON

Shotlist

1. Close up, newborn crying
2. Med shot, mother wrapping baby
3. Wide shot, family in the room
4. Close up, newborn
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Nisreen, Mother, Syrian refugee:
“He was ok when we left the hospital. He got sick when we moved back here because of the humidity, the cold and winds.”
6. Close up, newborn
7. Various shots, inside the warehouse
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fawaz Awaz, Father, Syrian refugee:
“We only have this room. If you put an electric heater, the power goes off and a stove can’t be put here.”
9. Various shots, mother wrapping baby and handing him to the father
10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fawaz Awaz, Father, Syrian YRIAN REFUGEE (Arabic)
“Sometimes I borrow money from my neighbors. I can’t walk a lot on my leg. A shell hit my house and my toes are gone.”
11. Various of shelter adjacent to warehouse
12. Wide family inside the room
13. Various shots of newborn

Storyline

SOUND UP (baby crying)

Baby Mohammed is only ten days old and already is suffering from a cold.

In this tiny room where his family lives, it’s hard to keep warm.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Nisreen, Mother, Syrian refugee:
“He was ok when we left the hospital. He got sick when we moved back here because of the humidity, the cold and winds.”

SOUND UP (mother rolling baby in blankets)

Thirty families, including Fawaz’s family live in this warehouse in North Lebanon.

The shelter is humid and cold.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fawaz Awaz, Father, Syrian refugee:
“We only have this room. If you put an electric heater, the power goes off and a stove can’t be put here.”

Fawaz pays around 50 dollars per month for this room, a sum he finds hard to pay. He can’t work.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fawaz Awaz, Father, Syrian YRIAN REFUGEE (Arabic)
“Sometimes I borrow money from my neighbors. I can’t walk a lot on my leg. A shell hit my house and my toes are gone.”

The UN refugee agency is providing some assistance for the families - plywood and plastic sheets reinforce the rooms, but still the families remain vulnerable.

SOUND UP (Fawaz playing with baby)

Fawaz hopes his son is strong and will recover quickly.

And he hope to one day take his newborn home to Syria.