Idlib – North-Press Agency
Camp residents in Idlib's north are facing increasing living difficulties with the absence of relief efforts in some areas, especially as Ramadan approaches.
Abu Aghid Khattab, media activist and resident of Atmah camp north of Idlib, told North-Press that the IDPs are in urgent need of foodstuffs as Ramadan approaches, in light of the absence of any role for relief organizations, and the few efforts that exist do not meet the growing needs.
A family's daily expenses reach an average of 4,000 Syrian pounds for bread, water and medicine, and IDPs are forced to sell their furniture and what comes from their monthly relief basket in order to secure their daily expenses, according to Khattab.
The number of Atmah camps is about 100, housing about 5,000 families, which lack even the most basic essentials for living, according to Khattab, who is one of the oldest residents of the camp.
In the Atmah camps, there are two organizations that work to provide the IDPs with some services, namely Ataa Organization, which is responsible for the monthly basket and bread. The second is the Global Organization, which is responsible for hygiene, distribution of drinking water and the emptying of sewage ditches.
The residents of Saraqib camp, in the village of Kelli in the northern countryside of Idlib, also complain about the living conditions that are just as bad as other camps distributed in the Syrian north, amid the absence of any role for relief organizations as well.
Abu Yazan al-Ibrahim, a resident of Saraqib camp, told North-Press that since the camp was established three months ago, relief aid has only entered the camp once, and the aid was very limited.
According to the camp administration, Saraqib camp houses 122 families who have been displaced from the city of Saraqib and its surroundings, and from the countryside of Maarat al-Numan and Hama, since the beginning of the year 2020, fleeing the military operations carried out by both the Syrian government forces and armed opposition groups.
There are more than 40 camps in the village of Kelli, in addition to Saraqib camp, whose residents suffer from health problems and the spread of disease, while there is no medical point serving the area.
Al-Ibrahim said that among the most prominent diseases prevalent in the camp is leishmaniasis, as there are 25 cases in the camp, in addition to a number of cases of paralysis among the elderly, while the nearest medical point is three kilometers away from the camp.
The problems in all Syrian northern camps are not limited to relief, but also to health and education, in addition to the problems of sanitation and the absence of bathrooms and toilets. Moreover, the tents are worn and the newly displaced families are being forced to stay overnight with families who only have one tent, which increases the bitterness of displacement in the Syrian north, amidst the prevailed silence of Turkish and international relief organizations.