ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) – The 42-year-old Horiyya Hamid, an IDP from the town of Maskanah in the eastern countryside of Aleppo Governorate and lives in al-Khrija camp, a squatter camp in the western side of the city of Manbij, northern Syria, watches her nine-year-old child with special needs powerless.
Hamid said that she went to several organizations to register her child who has brain atrophy and paralysis in his lower limbs to get support in order to help her husband, who works as a daily worker for 7.000 Syrian Pound (SYP) per day, but they did not provide him with any significant support.
IDPs in the camps of Manbij complain about the lack of humanitarian aid in light of the closure of al-Ya’rubiyah (Tel Kocher) crossing, resulting in the lack of humanitarian aid.
Al-Ya’rubiyah crossing, which is located on the Syrian-Iraqi border, was closed due to a Russian-Chinese veto in the UN Security Council in early 2020.
The closure of the crossing continues which prevents the entry of humanitarian aid, the matter puts humanitarian pressure on IDPs in Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) areas.
The AANES was first formed in 2014 in the Kurdish-majority regions of Afrin, Kobani and Jazira in northern Syria following the withdrawal of the government forces. Later, it was expanded to Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) defeated ISIS militarily.
Hamid talked, in her local accent, about the absence of humanitarian aid, saying, “without work, we would have died of hunger, no one supports us, the assistance of organizations is mere words, as they provide us a little. We live in bad conditions and need support.”
She added that their tent, which is made of grain bags, throughout pointing to it, is empty of even food, as her husband cannot afford the expenses of their disabled child and his five siblings.
In light of the closure of humanitarian crossings including al-Ya’rubiyah crossing, humanitarian aid that used to arrive to areas of northeastern Syria was decreased.
Her brother-in-law usually helps them, but it is not enough, since he can support them for a day or a month but not for ever. If humanitarian organizations did not provide them with integrated support, their situation will worsen more and more, according to Hamid.
The 39-year-old Muhammad al-Adham, who is an IDP from Maskanah and lives with his eight-member family in al-Khrija camp, said that their needs exceed the provided support of humanitarian organizations.
Since 2017, most of the residents of the town of Maskanah and the city of Deir Hafir in the eastern and the southeastern countryside of Aleppo Governorate have been displaced. This displacement came after Syrian government forces took control over the area following battles with the Islamic state Organization (ISIS).
Due to high temperatures and the increase of consuming water in the camp, organizations operating in the camps stopped providing IDPs water for free, as they used to. So that, they are forced to buy water from portable water tankers on their own expense, al-Adham told North Press.
They pay about 2.500 SYP for each water tank daily, and there are some families have to pay more, depending on their daily needs. Regarding to food aid, it lasts for some days, according to al-Adham.
The camp lacks medical services in light of high temperatures, illness and heat strokes that their children suffer from, in addition to high costs of treatment outside the camp, he added that.
Squatter camps in Manbij house 1.935 families that include 9.786 people from the aforementioned areas, according to the Civil Administration of Manbij and its Countryside which is affiliated with (AANES).
Asma’ Rammo, co-chair of Social Affairs and Labor Committee, said that the AANES cannot be responsible for all IDPs and it cannot provide them with support, as this is the responsibility of the humanitarian organizations operating in Manbij.
The Committee is continually in contact with humanitarian organizations to meet the needs of the residents of camps and squatter camps in Manbij, as aid is provided to them through programs that the organizations adhere to.