GG's heart goes out to Syrian refugees

3 Sep 2012, 5:33 pm   -   Source: AAP

Governor-General Quentin Bryce, who has visited a refugee camp in Jordan, says the Syrian mothers there have been through "enormous stresses".

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Governor-General Quentin Bryce says as a grandmother, her heart goes out to thousands of Syrian children suffering in the dust of a refugee camp in Jordan.

Ms Bryce visited the Al Zaatari camp on Sunday as part of a four-day state visit to Jordan.

"It's enormously distressing for all of us to reflect on the huge numbers of little children who are here," the governor-general told ABC Radio.

"Increasingly hundreds every day, who are under four, these tiny little children, whose health is very vulnerable in this dust.

"As a grandmother my heart goes out to them."

Jordan has taken in more than 150,000 refugees since unrest began in Syria. Australia has committed $20.5 million in humanitarian assistance.

Ms Bryce's visit to Jordan follows a trip by Foreign Minister Bob Carr in August.

The governor-general said Syrian mothers in particular had been through "enormous stresses" after leaving their homes and husbands.

"They're very concerned about the safety of their little children," she said.

"We have no understanding of the risks, the dangers, the constant anxiety, how draining that must be, how debilitating."

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