Syrians struggle to survive cold in Lebanon, Jordan, and their home country
Shafaq News/ A snowstorm in the Middle East has left many Syrians scrambling to find ways to survive, burning old clothes, plastic and in some cases even sheep manure to keep warm as temperatures plummet and poverty soars.
Hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan and others displaced by Syria’s war are sheltering in poorly heated tents, relying mostly on layers of blankets to keep warm.
“The situation is very, very difficult,” social activist Baseem Atrash told the Associated Press from the snowcapped northeastern Lebanese town of Arsal near the Syrian border. Arsal is home to one of the largest Syrian refugee concentrations in Lebanon, with some 50,000 people, most of them living in flimsy tents.
“They are burning anything to keep their heaters on, from plastic to old clothes,” Atrash said. Earlier this month, a Syrian mother and her three children died in their sleep after inhaling toxic fumes from burning coal to heat their room in a village in southern Lebanon.
In Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, where many of the 3 million residents are displaced, Yassin al-Yassin was fortifying his tent with extra tarps and supports as the weather worsened. AP added.
Al-Yassin, who lives in the tent with his wife, two daughters and son, couldn’t afford wood or diesel for heating, so he’ll be burning dried sheep manure that’s been piled up since summer.
“All we have to protect us is tarp and blankets,” he said by telephone from the tent, surrounded by mountains near the Turkish border. He told the Associated Press that only those receiving hard currency from relatives abroad can afford to buy diesel and wood for heating.
Aid group CARE International said temperatures are expected to drop in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria to well below freezing, endangering the lives of millions already living in precarious circumstances.
“People can see their own breath when lying on their thin mattresses, you will see children walk around in flipflops and ripped shirts. Families are afraid that they will freeze to death,” said Jolien Veldwijk, CARE Syria Country Director.
Cold and respiratory illnesses are rising and spreading, as is the threat of COVID-19 in overcrowded camps without sufficient healthcare, CARE said.
In Gaza, residents struggled to stay warm amid power shortages. The coastal enclave, home to more than 2 million people, has been under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade since the militant Hamas group seized power in 2007. Hamas and Israel have fought four destructive wars since then, most recently last spring, and countless rounds of smaller skirmishes.
At the height of the storm Wednesday, rainwater flooded Gaza streets and schoolchildren waded through the muddy waters after classes, drawing criticism against Hamas for its mismanagement of the territory. Elsewhere, children played barefoot in the muddy alleys.
