{"id":44204,"date":"2020-11-02T02:30:53","date_gmt":"2020-11-02T02:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=44204"},"modified":"2020-11-02T02:30:53","modified_gmt":"2020-11-02T02:30:53","slug":"crammed-into-camps-displaced-syrians-fear-spread-of-coronavirus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=44204","title":{"rendered":"Crammed into camps, displaced Syrians fear spread of coronavirus"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nDUBAI: These days, social media is full of images and videos of children in various postures of remote learning, ranging from sleeping soundly on the study table to turning desks and chairs into makeshift swings.
After months of navigating the social complexities of the pandemic, even adults are feeling the mental strain of lockdowns and safety measures.
As the \u201cnew normal\u201d drags on, many complain that the supply of patience and energy is depleting.
For children with special needs, the effects are far more pronounced. \u201cIt has affected them psychologically because they\u2019re not used to so many months of home confinement, sometimes without electricity or water,\u201d Mohammed Dawoud told Arab News from Gaza, where he cares for his brothers Haytham and Hamza. Both have cerebral palsy.
Long weeks spent indoors have made his usually unflappable brothers much angrier, Dawoud said, adding: \u201cI noticed it when talking to them and by seeing how they shout at each other.\u201d
People with special needs are often deeply attached to consistent daily routines, which have been turned upside down by lockdown measures.<\/p>\n

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\nChildren with special needs attend a class at a rehabilitation center in Iraq’s northern city of Mosul on March 4, 2020. (AFP\/Zaid Al-Obeidi)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\u201cI think a lot of them thrive in environments that they\u2019re used to. They also have a certain schedule, a certain structure,\u201d said Alba Quadros, a special educational needs and teaching expert based in Dubai. \u201cBecause of the lockdown, this has completely crashed.\u201d
The closure of public spaces and schools, as well as limitations on social functions, to help curb the spread of coronavirus have also affected socializing with their peers.
\u201cThe challenge mainly was not being able to meet friends,\u201d Suneeta Ramakrishnan told Arab News from Dubai, describing the impact of the lockdown on her son Siddharth.
\u201cHe used to go to the nearby shops to buy basic groceries, and to his Special Needs Future Development Center independently, which got stopped.\u201d
Gina Rasmi, who lives in Egypt, said she has tried everything to help break the monotony of life under lockdown for her 14-year-old son Marc.
\u201cIt was very hard. Sitting at home made him angry, so I used to take him on car rides and drive around for an hour or two. At least he feels happy that he went out,\u201d Rasmi added.
Although many governments have adopted distance education to overcome gaps in the learning process, some special-needs children in Lebanon are missing out.
\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\nIN<\/span>NUMBERS<\/h4>\n
\n
\n
    \n
  • \n68.9% – Illiteracy rate among over-15 males with disabilities in Palestine\u2019s rural areas.<\/li>\n
  • \n1.7 million – Persons with reported disabilities in Morocco in 2014.<\/li>\n
  • \n677,492 Persons with reported disabilities in Iraq in 2013.<\/li>\n
  • \n4x – Difference in proportion of persons without disabilities having attained some form of education and persons with disabilities in Oman.<\/li>\n
  • \nSource: WHO<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    \n\u201cA lot of children didn\u2019t benefit from online learning due to parents\u2019 inability to help their children and the constant disruptions in electricity and the internet,\u201d said Kamal Nasr, administrator of the Robouana Social Charitable Association in Lebanon.
    Some parents are not familiar with the technology or the special curriculum designed to help their children, while others simply cannot afford a home computer, Nasr added.
    Moreover, not all special-needs people respond the same way to distance learning, with many preferring in-person sessions.
    Through her initiative Determined and Dramatic, Quadros is working with special-needs children in Dubai to produce a virtual play about the effects of the pandemic on their daily lives.
    \u201cI have a couple of actors who respond much better to face-to-face instructions,\u201d she said. \u201cI had to make sure they learned their lines, but how to deliver them is something I was only able to do once the lockdown was lifted.\u201d
    On top of all this is the strain that COVID-19 has placed on the global economy, which has burdened households with additional financial worries.
    Half a billion people are expected to be pushed into poverty by the pandemic\u2019s economic fallout.
    An estimated 400 million jobs have already been lost, and the International Labour Organization estimates that more than 430 million small enterprises are at risk.
    Across the Middle East, families are being pushed into poverty. \u201cI had a mum who\u2019d just recently lost her job. She comes from a middle-class family and yet she didn\u2019t have wi-fi at home, so it was very difficult to rehearse with her son online,\u201d Quadros said.<\/p>\n

    \n
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    \nChildren with special needs are participate in a \u2018Let\u2019s walk the Walk Together\u2019 race in Jeddah. They are among the estimated 450,000 people with intellectual disabilities in Saudi Arabia. (Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

    \nProviding even the barest of essentials is becoming a struggle for many households. \u201cPrices have doubled. I stopped buying vitamins and fresh fruits,\u201d said Dawoud.
    \u201cI try as much as possible to buy groceries, but public transport has stopped and the money isn\u2019t enough. There are eight months of rent which I haven\u2019t paid yet.\u201d
    Hopes that some kind of assistance from the government or charities in Gaza would be forthcoming were quickly dashed. \u201cNo one has bothered,\u201d Dawoud said.
    Families in Lebanon face similar difficulties. \u201cThe (special-needs) associations used to cover part of the expenses,\u201d providing children in their care with snacks and three meals a day, Nasr said.
    But government funding, which was barely enough to cover expenses, salaries and fuel for heaters before the crisis, has not been paid since 2019, he added.
    Since Middle East governments began easing lockdown measures, populations have been forced to adapt to the new normal. Parents are now faced with the challenge of explaining safety measures to their children.
    At the Hope Academy in Egypt, were Rasmi\u2019s son Marc is a pupil, teachers and parents are doing their best to educate the children without scaring them.
    \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t scare them and make them feel like life has now become bad. We should just tell them, \u2018It\u2019s a phase and it\u2019ll pass, but during that time we have to protect ourselves so we don\u2019t get sick\u2019,\u201d Rasmi said.<\/p>\n

    \n
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    \nHamza Dawoud, right, and his brother Haytham, who both have cerebral palsy, have found it hard to cope with being confined to home. (Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

    \nParents and staff have taught their children to wash their hands regularly, to wear a face mask and to follow social distancing rules.
    \u201cA lot of the children can follow (the safety measures), and those who can\u2019t we make sure we wash their hands and take care of the other instructions,\u201d Rasmi said.
    Other schools have started house visits to check on the students and their families, said Nasr of\u00a0the Robouana Social Charitable Association.
    \u201cWe also organized a one-day event to teach them about coronavirus, its symptoms and precaution methods through a small performance and some games,\u201d he added.
    Some parents, such as Siddharth\u2019s mum Ramakrishnan, have used this period of isolation to teach their children how to use voice-messaging and online shopping apps.
    \u201cHe has made a time schedule to get in touch with his friends, grandparents and other family members by learning how to use these apps. This has helped him learn about \u2018turn taking\u2019 while talking,\u201d Ramakrishnan said.
    Although the pandemic has placed immense strains on households, Quadros sees a silver lining for children with special needs: More time with mum and dad.
    \u201cThey were able to have their parents around and to have them fully,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like they were able to cope because there was a lot of family time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    DUBAI: These days, social media is full of images and videos of children in various postures of remote learning, ranging from sleeping soundly on the study table to turning desks and chairs into makeshift swings.After months of navigating the social complexities of the pandemic, even adults are feeling the mental strain of lockdowns and safety…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotlight_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44204\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}