«Some have seen their father or mother killed»

Ms Attassi, you co-founded the Happiness Again Trauma Centre in 2014. How did this come about?

When the first Syrian refugees arrived in Jordan, I got involved in humanitarian emergency aid together with friends. Later, we organised medical aid missions. We brought doctors from all over the world to Jordan to treat refugees free of charge. While the parents were being treated, we looked after the children, painted or did handicrafts with them. We realised that many of the children had psychological problems.

What exactly did you notice?

Some children didn't talk, were very frightened, others quickly became loud and aggressive. These children have experienced terrible things in the war. Many had to hide for days in windowless rooms in Syria because of the bombs.

Some had to watch their parents being killed. Others were raped or witnessed beheadings by ISIS, the so-called Islamic State.

And how are the children doing as refugees in Jordan?

Jordan had to take in several hundred thousand refugees within a short space of time. This has put a huge strain on the housing and labour market. Many refugee families live in one-room flats and the parents work illegally. The whole family suffers as a result and the children have no space to play.

How do you make parents aware of the trauma therapy centre?

One major challenge is the social stigma: many parents don't want to admit that their child is ill and needs help, following the motto, «My child isn't crazy!» Meanwhile, word has got around that the children who come to us are doing much better. We also combine trauma therapy with other programmes such as English courses for the older siblings or sewing courses for the mothers.

What does a day at the centre look like?

The children come to us in the mornings. We pick them up in a school bus because the families cannot afford to travel by public transport. After welcoming them, we start with yoga to relax them. Then we read a story. The children love that. After about an hour, they split up into different therapy groups.

Which therapies does Happiness Again work with?

We work with sand, play, art and music therapy, and of course with individual therapy sessions. A new therapy cycle starts four times a year with around 40 children. Which therapy helps a child the most is very individual. Some children are better able to explain themselves through painting, for others it is the sandboxes, in which they re-enact their experiences with figures.

And do the children feel better after the therapy?

Children with really bad traumas will somehow take this with them until they grow up. It is important that they find a way of dealing with it, that they learn to come to terms with their war experiences.

How do you assess the need: are there enough therapy programmes?

Not all Syrian refugee children are traumatised by war. But unfortunately there are more of them than you might think. The need is therefore very great. We have treated around 1,000 children since 2014. The fact that our centre still has a long waiting list shows that there are unfortunately still not enough services available.

About the Syrian Refugee Crisis Association

Syrian Refugee Crisis is a non-profit organisation founded in 2014 and based in Zurich. Since then, the association has been the main sponsor of the Happiness Again trauma therapy centre in Amman, Jordan. In addition to funding from donations, the association builds humanitarian and cultural bridges between Jordan and Switzerland. As all board members work on a voluntary basis, 100 per cent of the donations go to those affected.

Read more about children and trauma:

• «Arriving after war and flight»
  When children experience war and have to flee, they leave a lot behind. What they often take with them is fear and sadness, but also hope. Once they arrive in their new home, there are many hurdles to overcome. A reportage about children, teachers and therapists who shoulder a lot in order to defy the trauma.
• Mum-of-four helps refugees: «I don't want to duck away!»
  Fiona Kelly has been regularly travelling to refugee camps across Europe since autumn 2015, distributing aid and food. She also supports refugees in her home town during the asylum process. She is also the mother of two three-year-old twins and two school-age boys. She tells us what motivates her and how she talks to her children about war.
• How refugee children and young people enrich our schools
  Every third refugee who comes to Europe is travelling alone and is a minor. Many of them are of school age. What consequences does this have for our education system? Parents fear overcrowded school classes in which hardly anyone speaks German, while teachers fear a loss of quality in their lessons. In her book «The refugees are here!», our author addresses the topic of immigration in our schools and the question of how we can overcome this educational challenge.