A GLENWOOD family, who recently travelled to Turkey, experienced firsthand the after effects of the war in Syria.
Local GP, Dr Rosanne Symons, her husband Gavin Binder and their five children, visited Turkey when Rosanne attended an international medical conference hosted by the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) in Instanbul.
The conference addressed healthcare dilemmas in Syria and other ethical issues.
It wasn’t Rosanne’s first visit to the country however, she had previously visited on a medical mission in 2013.
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“I work in trauma units in Durban and decided to put my name down to volunteer with Gift of the Givers. My first relief work was in the Congo in 2012. When the war started in Syria in 2011, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman said he wanted to take a team there in 2013. I volunteered on the medical mission for two weeks,” she said.
Since then Rosanne has been concerned and involved in the suffering of the Syrians during the ongoing conflict in the country.
“My time there was amazing, but hectic. It was completely life-changing, the best thing to ever happen to me. I have become obsessed with Syria and weep over the tragedy and loss. I am deeply in love with the people and am concerned for them,” she said.
After her return, Rosanne started studying Arabic which has helped in her dealings with refugees in Jordan’s Alza’atari camp and also when she visited Lebanon as a volunteer for SAMS.
Rosanne became aware of the international medical conference hosted by SAMS in Istanbul, Turkey, and felt she had to attend.
What was different about this conference was that the organisation was offering parallel sessions for the duration of the conference for family members of the delegates to spend three days of structured interaction with Syrian refugee children and families.
“After some deliberation and concerns about the cost, my husband and I decided that we wanted to take our five children with us to Turkey so that they could all meet, and spend meaningful time with these precious people,” she said.
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It turned out to be an amazing experience for them all. For Rosanne, it was a privilege to be at the conference,and to meet people such as the White Helmets, who are the first respondents after bombs fall, and to hear firsthand the stories they had to share.
“The children were very touched by the people they met and things they experienced. They enjoyed a sports day with some of the disabled children, where they pushed them in the wheelchairs and taught them how to throw balls. They did arts and crafts and on the last day, they walked in a forest with the widowed moms and children who had lost their parents,” she said.
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For the Symons family, the experience was one they will never forget, from the people they got to know and the volunteers they met. Today, the two older children, Ruth and Jack have also started to learn Arabic and the family stays in touch with all those they met in Istanbul. Gavin believes the trip was a great experience for all the children. “The people value Rose being there, she has been in the war and they appreciate her,” he said.
Speaking about the experience, Jack, (10), said: “It is amazing how you could love people so much when you have only known them for a little while. The people we met are like a part of our family. I enjoyed the activities and felt more open to the people as they had disabilities. We learnt how they lived and what they had gone through. I’m glad we went and I definitely want to go again.”
Ruth, (12), said she was amazed that the volunteers, who were mostly students, gave up their time to do the things they loved. “I think my favourite day was the last day, when we went out with our friends,” she said.
Nine-year-old triplets, Luke, Nate and Seth, all said they loved the food, but were also moved by the fact there were so many orphaned children in the area who were out on the streets late at night and into the early hours of the morning, in desperate need of food and money.
Nate was moved to tears when he saw an orphan who was asking for food at a restaurant. “A man took her out of the restaurant and said she wasn’t allowed back. I felt very sad,” he said.
“A five-year-old orphan was trying to sell things and no one wanted to buy anything. I felt so sad that I gave him some money. It made him cry he was so happy,” said Luke.
He said when they were in a restaurant he saw a man sitting alone and he started to talk to him.
“It made me sad that he was all alone. His name is Ramy and he is from Palestine. He was badly injured in the war. We still talk to him often now that we are home,” he said.
Rosanne said she had developed a passion for the country and wanted to get more involved in the psycho-social and mental healthcare side as so many people, like doctors, struggled to process the trauma they see in the country.
“I feel people need to be aware of the hectic situation in Syria and the plight of these people, what they have gone through and how beautiful they are. More people should go and see for themselves and get involved in helping. I hope to go to the Alza’atari camp in Amman, Jordan, to volunteer in a medical capacity with SAMS in March,” she said.
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