Syria’s Afrin IDPs sway between lack of jobs, poor livelihood
ALEPPO NORTHERN COUNTRYSIDE, Syria (North Press) – The 38-year-old Ayoush Walo, an IDP from Afrin northern Syria residing in Barkhodan Camp north of Aleppo, works in cleaning bathrooms in order to secure livelihood for her two children, in light of the lack of job opportunities.
She told North Press that she is exhausted, ” I work in a very bad job. I clean bathrooms reluctantly. I searched for a better job, but I found none.”
Five months ago, the woman’s husband died of a heart attack, and she has become the only breadwinner for her family, she noted.
Prior to the Turkish invasion of Afrin in 2018, Walo like many other IDPs of Afrin used to rely on olive seasons, and work in cultivation of vegetables and fruits.
“I make 150,000 Syrian pounds (SYP, less than $50) per month . it is too little,” she added.
Soaring prices, lack of support by humanitarian and relief organizations, the frequent Turkish bombardment of the area, and lack of job opportunities worsened conditions of the IDPs residing in the camp.
The widow noted that they lived in safety and received their basics before the death of her husband, who worked in the agricultural authority.
Barkhodan Camp, which was established in 2018, is a house for about 714 families numbering 2,750 individuals of Afrin IDPs in addition to other five camps.
Meat is pricey
The 45-year-old Muhammad Alo, an IDP Afrin countryside, spends a great deal of time collecting some herbs from fields in order to sell them in turn for 1500 SYP each kilo to support his family of nine.
Every three or four months, the family, who live in a very small tent, buys meat for cooking due to its skyrocketing price.
Since early Ramadan, some IDPs of Afrin residing in the camps have been exchanging their remaining gas cylinders to prepare Iftar, while others resorted to firewood due to the Syrian government strict siege on them, according to North Press.
” There’s no job, no companies, no factories, and no sewing workshop so we can work,” he added.
“Back in Afrin, we had olive orchards, we used to save money from the harvest. we were happy.”
Siege and bombardment left stricken areas
So far, there have been no accurate percentages of the unemployment phenomenon in the northern countryside of Aleppo, where Afrin’s IDPs are distributed, but it exceeds 40%, according to IDPs.
Afrin IDPs are living in stricken areas, as described by Jum’a Kalo, co-chair of Shahba Region Council, due to battles that took place between the armed factions and the Syrian government in previous years.
As a result, capitals immigrated, poultry and factories suspended their work due to sabotage.
Kalo pointed out that the ongoing Turkish bombardment and the government siege on the region led to the scarcity of the projects.
“If we want to support any enterprises, there should be raw materials,” Kalo noted.
The lack of the raw material is the biggest problem the IDPs of Afrin face, according to him.
All the five camps (Afrin, Barkhodan, al-Awda, Sardam and Shahba) suffer from lack of humanitarian organizations’ support, and therefore the IDPs are forced to rely on the available limited capabilities.
Operation Olive Branch, carried out by Turkish forces and Turkish-backed armed groups against Afrin city in 2018, displaced more than 300,000 people, according to the Human Rights Organization in Afrin.
Some IDPs fled to camps including al-Awda, Afrin, Barkhodan, Sardam, and Shahba, while others are spread across 42 villages in the northern countryside of Aleppo and other areas in northeast Syria.