By Zana al-Ali
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – Ali is hesitant to demand Raqqa’s Civil Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) to relocate displaced people who reside in his land under the pressure of customs and traditions in Raqqa Governorate, northern Syria. At the same time, he needs the land for cultivation and construction projects.
After four years of waiting, Ali al-Hassan, 30, who lives in the village of Mazra’at Tishrin, 30km northwest of Raqqa, demands the deportation of the IDPs who had fled from several areas in Syria as a result of fighting among different parties since 2011.
Al-Hassan owns about 172 acres of land to the west of the road between Raqqa and Ain Issa near Mazra’at al-Hakkoumiyah area, where dozens of makeshift camps for IDPs, mostly from Homs, Hama, Deir ez-Zor, and Tel Abyad, are located.
“Since 2019, there have been dozens of tents for IDPs on our land, making it impossible for us to cultivate or construct anything, especially as the land is located near the main road,” al-Hassan said.
The makeshift camps are randomly scattered on farmlands and along main roads. The IDPs have been experiencing difficult humanitarian conditions since the U.N. ceased its support for Northeast Syria in 2020 after a Russian-Chinese veto resulted in the closure of the al-Ya’rubiyah (Tel Kocher) border border crossing on the Syria-Iraqi border.
“We feel deeply for the suffering of the IDPs because we have experienced displacement as well. However, we have endured this situation for four years. The AANES should find a solution and relocate the IDPs from our lands because we need them,” al-Hassan added.
Complaints
On the sides of a 100-meter-wide destroyed train track, located to the west of the city of Raqqa, lies a makeshift camp that stretches over five kilometers across farmlands, with an adjacent irrigation channel. The majority of the IDPs are from Deir ez-Zor, Hama, and Homs.
Private property owners in Raqqa have filed complaints and attached ownership documents and data, demanding the AANES to relocate the IDPs. However, their demands are yet to be addressed.
North Press reviewed the complaints and papers of ownership by property owners where the makeshift camps are located.
Mustafa Abdi, a notable of the Ghanim al-Daher clan and owner of a land adjacent to the train track, said, “We cannot cultivate vegetables in our lands due to repeated trespassing.”
Abdi and his peers submitted a joint complaint to Raqqa’s Civil Council to remove makeshift camps from farmlands but in vain.
Abdi urges the AANES to find solutions for the camps in the countryside of the Raqqa.
There are 53 makeshift camps in Raqqa that house over 150,000 individuals, including 76,775 women and 60,398 children, according to statistics obtained by North Press from Raqqa’s Civil Council.
Seeking shelter
Mariam al-Khalil, originally from Tel Abyad, lives in a tent made of cloths and reeds in the al-Hakkoumiyah camp. There is a wood stove inside and two carpets on both sides of the tent with a small bare area in the middle.
Al-Khalil resides there with six children, the eldest being sixteen, while her husband is unable to work due to having spinal surgery. She and her children work as daily laborers in farmlands.
Turkey and its affiliated armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA) launched a military operation called “Peace Spring” in the cities of Tel Abyad and Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) in northeastern Syria in 2019. The operation led to the displacement of 300,000 original inhabitants, including al-Khalil who was displaced from her home in the village of Ali Bachliya in the southern countryside of Tel Abyad.
“The Tel al-Samen camp, which is designated for IDPs from Tel Abyad, does not receive us because it cannot accommodate more IDPs,” al-Khalil added.
In previous statements to North Press, the administration of the Tel al-Samen camp for Tel Abyad’s displaced, where 6,855 displaced individuals reside in 1,387 tents, said that the camp cannot accommodate more IDPs.
Al-Khalil demands the provision of a shelter for her family, encompassing all services. “We have no problem relocating to an organized camp,” she said.
Due to their fear of not receiving sufficient support from humanitarian organizations, many IDPs in the countryside of Raqqa hesitate to leave makeshift camps and relocate to organized ones.
Obstacles
Jihad Hassan, Co-chair of the Social Affairs and Labor Committee of the AANES, stated that makeshift camps pose a significant burden on the AANES due to their presence in historical areas, near landfills, and, most problematically, on private properties.
“Based on dozens of complaints that have been filed to the AANES’ Camps Office by landowners whose lands have hosted these camps for nearly six years, and considering that thousands of children are deprived of schools, we have developed a plan to organize these camps,” Hassan said.
Raqqa’s Civil Council identified four key sites for establishing 53 makeshift camps which are located near the al-villages of al-Adnaniyah, al-Bizar, Salhabiyah, and al-Rahiyat. These areas are public properties, close to irrigation channels, and adjacent to farmlands to provide employment opportunities for camp residents, according to Hassan.
“Currently, we have integrated three makeshift camps out of eight into one camp in al-Adnaniyah area, northwest of Raqqa, with more than 400 families, while other areas are still under consideration,” Hassan added.
Hassan expresses dissatisfaction over the lack of response by donor entities and humanitarian organizations to support the al-Adnaniyah camp at a time when the AANES cannot bear full responsibility for supporting the vast number of camps in the region.
Based on information obtained by North Press, the primary reason for the lack of support from humanitarian organizations in establishing new camps, including makeshift camps in Raqqa, is that the responsible entities only provide assistance to camps created in response to new waves of displacement caused by conflict.
The information noted that the support provided to makeshift camps in Raqqa is based on approved previous projects, specifying the location and timing for delivering aid. Therefore, providing aid in another place or camp faces challenges.
In addition, these organizations claim their inability to support newly established camps due to limited funds.
Based on the available information, supporting entities possess data from organizations operating in Raqqa that reveals the absence of suitable shelter, sanitation, water facilities, and employment opportunities for IDPs residing in the al-Adnaniyah camp. These factors hinder the support mechanism in the camp.
Raqqa is home to more than 550 archaeological sites, spread across the city and its countryside. Unfortunately, many of these sites in the countryside have been targeted by soil excavation and illicit digging activities.
Yasser Abdullah, Deputy Co-Chair of the Antiquities Office in Raqqa’s Civil Council, identified important archaeological sites like the city of Tuttul in eastern Raqqa and Hergla’s castle in the west, along with several others, which have suffered damage due to acts of sabotage and the presence of makeshift camps nearby.
“We try as much as we can to protect archaeological sites. We have filed several complaints and submitted official letters to the relevant authorities and the Social Affairs and Labor Committee to remove makeshift camps on the outskirts of archaeological sites,” Abdullah said.