Internally Displaced Syrians Struggle to Survive Winter in Raqqa Camps Without Heating Fuel
By Kardo Roj and Zana Al-Ali
With a trembling voice and supported by a cane, 70-year-old Hassana Faraj stands outside her tent in Raqqa’s Huwayja Zahra camp, where she has lived for years after being displaced from her hometown. Like thousands of others in Syria’s informal camps, Hassana now faces another harsh winter in a tent stitched together from discarded cloth and burlap sacks, with no heating fuel and minimal support.
Over a decade into Syria’s conflict, northern regions like Raqqa are home to numerous informal camps sheltering more than 70,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from various parts of Syria. In these camps, residents face dire humanitarian conditions, particularly as winter sets in, bringing freezing temperatures, rain, and muddy conditions that make life in makeshift tents increasingly unbearable.
“Diesel Is More Important Than Medicine”
For Hassana, who suffers from various health issues, the limited access to medicine is overshadowed by her need for heating fuel to survive the cold. Diesel has become scarce and expensive, often only available on the black market at prices beyond the reach of many displaced families. “I haven’t received diesel in two years, despite all the promises,” she says. “We’ve had to rely on wood gathered by my grandchildren from the riverbanks just to cook and stay warm.”
Families in camps like Huwayja Zahra and nearby al-Makas Camp have been allocated 300 liters of diesel for winter heating by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. However, delays in distribution, combined with skyrocketing black market prices, have left many families without any heating at all.
Hekal Ahmad, a father living with his family in al-Makas Camp, reports that they too have received no fuel for the past two winters. “We are forced to buy diesel from the black market for around 9,000 Syrian pounds per liter—a price we simply cannot afford,” he explains.
Deteriorating Living Conditions in Informal Camps
UN reports show that about 79% of the camps in Raqqa are informal and lack infrastructure, making them especially vulnerable to extreme weather. As rain seeps through worn-out tents and cold winds penetrate the thin fabric, families struggle to stay dry and warm. For many, even securing a basic meal requires burning plastic, wood, or discarded materials they find in nearby fields.
Mohammad Aboud, another resident of Huwayja Zahra Camp, fears the coming winter as rainwater has already started flooding their fragile tent. Despite numerous requests to local authorities, his family has not yet received their fuel allocation. “It’s a tragedy,” he says. “Women and children have to gather firewood, plastic, and even shoes to make a fire just to cook a simple meal.”
Calls for Humanitarian Support
The situation has led to an outpouring of frustration and calls for urgent humanitarian aid. Camp residents have asked the Autonomous Administration to accelerate fuel distribution, particularly as temperatures drop and food prices continue to rise. Limited job opportunities in the area leave many reliant on low-wage work in agriculture and construction, which barely covers basic needs.
Furthermore, closed border crossings have reduced the flow of humanitarian aid into northeast Syria, exacerbating the suffering of displaced Syrians. International humanitarian organizations and local authorities face increasing pressure to provide adequate shelter, heating fuel, and food assistance to alleviate the crisis.
In the absence of sufficient aid, winter in these informal camps remains a season of struggle and survival for displaced families like Hassana’s, left to brave the cold with minimal resources. The need for coordinated and prompt assistance has never been more critical.