Through Her Eyes: The Impact of War on Syrian Refugee Families

Abstract

Background The Syrian war conflict ended with devastating impact on Syrian refugee women and their children. A few studies have been done that explored the impact of the civil war and displacement of Syrian families from a cultural perspective. The purpose of this study was to highlight the experiences of the Syrian war–refugee families who have sought shelter in a host country. Method A descriptive phenomenological study was conducted using a semistructured interview approach among 16 Syrian refugee women who were approached from two Jordanian health care centers. Results The main themes discussed how the war ended with financial and social stress, family violence, and hazardous effects on women and children health. Conclusion This article introduced how culture and religion influence how family unit and members responded to war stressors. This study provided transcultural nursing knowledge, allowing nurses to be grounded in individualized culturally specific care.

Experiences of armed conflicts and forced migration among women from countries in the Middle East, Balkans, and Africa: a systematic review of qualitative studies

“…Armed conflict and destroyed infrastructure hindered access to basic commodities such as food, water, electricity and fuel [ 51 , 54 , 59 – 61 ]. The lack of resources and options resulted in a grief of not being able to provide their children more than absolutely necessary [ 39 , 59 ].…”

“…Women lived in crowded, temporary, and unsafe housing situations [ 47 , 54 ]. When living in refugee camps, women experienced significant challenges, including food shortages, insanitary conditions and inadequate shelters [ 38 , 41 , 42 , 45 , 55 , 61 ]. “Women’s narratives about powerlessness in terms of not being able to meet their children’s basic requirements, particularly for education and healthcare, reflected considerable psychological pain” [ 60 ] ”I have to feed them...…”

“…Women were exposed to intensified violence in public and private settings [ 38 – 40 , 45 , 46 , 50 , 54 , 55 , 61 , 62 , 62 ], perpetrated by the regime, military, and civilians [ 39 , 40 , 45 ]. Armed conflict and forced migration involved a significant risk of being exposed to violence and threats within the immediate and extended family.…”

“…Of those, five reported that the abuse became physical after the war had begun. The women who had been physically abused prior to the war reported an increase in frequency and intensity after the war began” [ 61 ] ”My husband hit me for the first time during the war time. I have never expected him to do so or even to be mad with me ever before the onset of war.” (Direct quote from a participant) [ 61 ]…”

“…Of those, five reported that the abuse became physical after the war had begun. The women who had been physically abused prior to the war reported an increase in frequency and intensity after the war began” [ 61 ]…”