MANBIJ, (North Press) – The displaced people in the new eastern IDP camp of Manbij, northern Syria, where 574 IDP families reside in, suffer from torn tents and bitter cold.
Winter means additional suffering for these families, since they live in very old, torn tents that cannot stop rainwater from dropping in.
Muhammad Imad, an IDP person staying with his family of 13 in the new eastern camp of Manbij, said that the few mattresses and blankets in the tent get wet with the first rainfall this year.
He added that the situation is the same for all families in the camp, since they do not have anything that prevents water from leaking into the tent.
The deteriorating living conditions and lack of work opportunities prevent families from building a fence for their tents, or cover them appropriately.
Imad believes that the humanitarian and relief organizations have to help them and provide the necessary aid at the beginning of winter.
The eastern camp, which is located southeast the city of Manbij, is housing 3,000 IDPs from the Deir Hafer and Maskanah areas, south of Manbij, which have been held by the Syrian government forces since 2017.
Ahmad al-Ibrahim, 60, inspects his damaged tent, while his wife cleans a sewage hole filled with washing water.
They said that the lack of a sanitation network in the camp forced them to dig a hole next to their tent to collect washing and cleaning water, and to empty it whenever it was full.
The sanitation service in the camp is limited to 16 blocks of toilets, each containing four toilets and two water tanks.
“The last time it rained, I could not sleep because the water leaked through the cracks and the sheets and mattress got wet.”
The camp administration says that it is counting the damaged tents to be replaced, in addition to planning to distribute winter supplies during the next week.
Muhammad Mansour, an official in the camp, told North Press that these supplies will include mattresses, blankets and winter clothes for all families.
Mansour believes that the camp is almost acceptable, as it contains toilets and a school for children in addition to child-friendly spaces.
“We submitted a project to urgently establish a sewage network inside the camp, and we are awaiting approval and the start of work,” he added.
Asma Remmo, co-chair of the Social Affairs and Labor Committee in Manbij, previously told North Press that the aid that would be provided to the IDPs in Manbij camps will also include heaters and a quantity of 220 liters of heating oil for each tent as a first batch.
Remmo did not specify the date for distributing the aid, but only said, “It will reach those who are entitled to it within the next few days.”