IDPs in Syria’s Tel Abyad Camp remember previous Ramadan with grief
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – IDPs in the Tel Abyad Camp in the countryside of Raqqa, northeast Syria, recall the atmosphere and rituals of Ramadan in their villages and towns before their displacement.
For the second year, the IDPs spend the fasting month far from their areas, which they fled following the attacks and the invasion of Turkish forces and Turkish-backed armed groups on the areas of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Tel Abyad at the end of 2019.
Memories and comparisons stir grief in the hearts of IDPs who live their days relying on limited varieties of food provided to them in light of the preventive measures against coronavirus.
Farida Ibrahim, an IDP from Abu Kharza village north of Ain Issa town residing in Tel Abyad Camp, said that ”the camp is cramped and uncomfortable.”
She remembered the atmosphere of Ramadan and the family bonds, saying, ”they are no longer there after the residents of the village have fled and headed to different places when they fled the village.”
Tel Abyad Camp is located in Tel al-Samn village, 40 kilometers from the city of Raqqa.
It was established in 2019 following the Turkish invasion of Sere Kaniye and Tel Abyad. At first, it included 860 tents and 750 families, to be expanded later in October 2020.
The IDPs complain that the food aid provided to their families are insufficient.
Ibrahim complains that the food aid provided by the humanitarian organizations are limited ”as they are often of bulgur, lentils, and rice.”
”It is a big prison where everything is repeated, even the food,” Asia Muhammad, an IDP from Tel Abyad city said.
Roubin al-Yahya, an IDP from Hamam al-Turkman village in the northern countryside of Raqqa, said that Ramadan this year is ”the hardest ever for the IDPs,” as it coincided with the lockdown imposed on the region against coronavirus.
He explained that aid for the IDPs is limited in light of the quarantine and the families’ inability to secure their growing needs during Ramadan.