Thirst for life

In Episode 3 of Between Lives, Amin Bhai, UNHCR WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Officer in Za’atari, explains some of the difficulties he faces on a daily basis, in trying to provide water and sanitation for around 76,000 people.

I wanted to do this job because of what I saw in India, where my parents are from. When there’s no clean water people get all sorts of horrible conditions and diseases and can really suffer, or even die. So when the opportunity came up to do this job, I didn’t really have to think twice.

I arrived here in the summer of 2012, just after the camp opened. There were less than 20,000 people here then, but that soon ballooned to over 120,000. It has since declined to around 76,000 people, but the task was still hugely daunting. There is no easily accessible water source anywhere near us; we’re pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

We had to build water and sanitation infrastructure for tens of thousands of people, we had to do it quickly and we were starting from scratch.

At first all the water was trucked in, but pretty early on we took the decision to sink boreholes. That’s a huge technical challenge because we had to go down 500 metres. And even after the drilling was done there was so much more to think about: how to get water from the boreholes into the washrooms and bathrooms in camp, how to keep it clean and how to get the waste out safely. When somewhere is as crowded as Za’atari the sanitation is crucial. Waterborne disease is a real risk but, fingers crossed, we’ve not had any serious outbreaks yet.

Even today, several years down the line, there’s still new challenges every day. We’re continually trying to make the system better so that everybody here can get water to drink and wash without too many problems. We’ll be sinking another borehole soon and that will mean that everybody has access to a tap within a few metres of their home.

Getting water to people is vital for their health, but here in Jordan it’s also about their dignity and independence.

People need to wash before prayers, it’s part of who they are. They’ve already lost so much: their homes, their livelihoods and often even family members, so it’s really important to give them water and the means to live as normal a life as possible.

Like I said, there are still new challenges every day, and that’s going to continue. So I’m really grateful for your ongoing support and donations. We’re going to be here for as long as we’re needed and it’s fantastic to have people like you on our side.

Amin Bhai
UNHCR WASH Officer, Za’atari.