Big Women

In anthropological literature, there's a phenomenon of the Big Man in refugee camps. A Big Man is someone who has no formal authority based on their title or position, but is recognized through their actions and wisdom. These are the men you go to when you need something, and depending on how corrupt they are, these are the "tough, self-made criminal-strongman-fixer-and politician" that may call on you to return the favor, Godfather style. They're the ones who make things happen. No elections put them in this position of power. But their role in society looms large.

Here, I've been impressed with the Big Women who have all the positive aspects of these described Big Men. I mentioned Um Z, who is Za'atari's unofficial social worker who just seems to find a way to help someone when there's no where else to turn (See the post "The women of Merje"). By the way, like the kunya "Abu" meaning father of, "Um" means mother of.

There's also Um A who works in Amman. She's also Syrian, and is the unofficial social worker for some of the injured Syrians who make it to Jordan. Many are Free Syrian Army, but there's also civilians. We saw a patient together today in the ICU with shrapnel in his brain. He crossed the border with CT scan images of a head, but since no one knows his name (and he's unconscious), we're not sure if the CT belongs to him or someone else. They're planning for surgery tomorrow, insha'allah, after another CT to be sure of what's in his brain.

This is one of about 50 injured patients that arrived in Jordan yesterday. But he's one of innumerable that Um A is helping by funding their treatment. A social worker by training, she's sought donations from private individuals in the Gulf region (Saudi and Kuwait mostly) and been able to support Syrians with no other support. Along with others, she's also been involved in convincing certain hospitals in Amman to provide discounted services for Syrian refugees.

No NGO, no tax deductions, just people dedicated to helping, leaning on their own private networks for donations. Given the lack of legal oversight, some might worry about corruption. Sure, there's no legal recourse, but from the dedication I've seen from Um Z and Um A, there's few people I would trust more with my money.

I spoke a bit to the organization Watsi.org before I came. They do great work crowdfunding treatments for people in developing countries. I thought that model would surely work for Syrian refugees. In a very positive way, the Big Women helping Syrian refugees have made Watsi irrelevant here.