Amman/Azraq - Yousef Filali (55) is a former air controller and businessman who decided last year to come out of retirement to work with CARE in the Azraq refugee camp.
He is a community development officer, with the responsibility of visiting refugees in their shelters shortly after they arrive to provide information and make sure they have everything they need. He is one of eleven CARE staffs to do this. Each day he visits with 20-25 families. He will also help organize committees with representatives from the different communities so that they have a way of conveying concerns and a voice in camp decision making.
Yousef’s parents came to Jordan from Palestine in 1948. They returned a few years after, but fled again when Yousef was a boy in 1967. They settled in the Al-Wehdat camp outside of Amman, which is now part of the city. “My experiences from having been a refugee myself get me very close to their feelings” he says.
“I cannot put myself exactly in their shoes – it’s hard to imagine what they have been through, many have seen friends and family killed in front of them – but I can better understand their problems, their anger and frustration. It is easier for me, because I remember what it was like to stand in line for hours to get bread and water.”
Walking through the camp on the day when the first refugees arrived, he smiles with recognition at the sight of a small boy trying to carry a big jerry can of water.
“That was me” he says. “We were small and the jerry cans very big so we spilt much of the water and had to go back for more. At night we used candles to read. It was very hard. There was no floor in our house. I remember my foot sticking in the mud when it was raining. I remember looking at people eating sandwiches and feeling envious.”
“Whatever we can do to help the refugees, it is not enough.”
As a young man, Yousef worked as a volunteer in neighborhood committees, raising money to help the poorest. His first experiences working with refugees were as an air controller helping organize the evacuation of refugees from Iraq during the first Gulf war.
On top of his personal experiences he has spent months preparing for the job in Azraq.
“We have been doing a lot of simulations. We have divided ourselves into two groups: one group of refugees and another group of CARE staff. We did this every day for four months in order to prepare ourselves for different situations.”
When he first meets the refugees, his main concern is to make them feel comfortable.
“I use the normal Arabic greetings and shake hands only with the men, because that is the culture. I use my social skills to break the ice and make sure that it does not seem like a formal, official visit, but more like we are family or old friends. I let them know that we speak the same language – both in the literal sense and in the other senses of the expression as well. I want them to consider me a brother or a father or an uncle. I tell them that whenever they see me, they can always stop me and I will do whatever I can to help – even if it means working long hours. It is important to tell them that we are here only for one purpose: to help them. We say that we try to understand their frustration but that we can never fully understand what they have experienced.”
Before meeting the first refugees, Yousef feels confident in his ability to do a good job.
“At my age, I don’t get nervous. I know how to manage strong feelings. I am an emotional man and cannot help myself feel emotional when I hear the stories that the refugees tell, but I know how to stay calm.”
Other CARE staff jokes that Yousef’s gray hairs helps him handle difficult situations. He agrees that his age can be an advantage.
“Yes, especially older people will listen more to me than someone younger. If there is a conflict, it is sometimes better to have someone older” he explains.
Read our Press Release on the opening of Azraq Refugee Camp. Click here to learn more about CARE's response to the Syrian crisis.
Media Contact:
Anders Nordstoga: [email protected]