TABQA, Syria (North Press) – Residing together with thousands of IDPs, al-Rahim fears that the dire conditions currently overwhelming them may lead to an imminent humanitarian crisis.
Nashmi al-Rahim, also known as ‘Abu Malek’, is 65 years old residing in al-Mahmoudli camp, in northern Syria, where IDPs have been suffering due to the lack of support for the past three months. UN aid has been halted for the same period, as the World Food Program (WFP) has yet to select a substitute for an association that used to provide food parcels.
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) halted the association’s work two months ago due to wrongdoings.
On April 30, the AANES Humanitarian Affairs Office stopped the al-Mawada Association in northeast Syria for violating the organizations’ framework conditions and rules, as well as receiving several complaints for violating NGO work requirements and regulations.
Al-Rahim told North Press that his conditions and those of his peers have deteriorated recently, as people living in AANES-held areas have already suffered from economic difficulties caused by high prices and currency devaluation.
“We are starving, and the Euphrates River is the only source of water for us,” he said.
Al-Rahim, a father of five children from the countryside of Hama, central-western Syria, also mentioned that there have been thefts in the camp due to the bad conditions.
The camp houses 1,814 families with 9,184 individuals, mostly from the countryside and cities of Aleppo, Homs, Hama, and Deir ez-Zor, which are controlled by the Syrian government forces.
Among them, there are more than 4,500 children under the age of 18 and about 1,150 infants, in addition to 276 people with physical and mental disabilities, as well as 578 people with chronic diseases.
The IDPs in al-Mahmoudli camp suffer from dire living and humanitarian conditions, according to the camp administration.
The AANES is powerless and can only provide very limited support to the IDPs, according to Amal al-Issa, co-chair of the Social Affairs and Labor Board in Tabqa, affiliated with the AANES.
60-year-old Nahar al-Hamdo from Hama countryside said, “there is no life inside this camp; even prisoners get food. Where are human rights here?”
He wonders how basic needs could be cut off. “One of the IDPs was even coerced to sell his clothes to feed his children,” al-Hamdo said.
“Where are human rights and international organizations? We are dying here, and no one cares,” he added.
The AANES holds the UN accountable for the dire conditions in the camp, particularly in light of current circumstances.
Siham al-Aqla, director of the camp, told North Press that the organizations had abandoned the IDPs despite appeals.
“Although we used to receive food parcels from al-Mawad Association, their work has been completely suspended, and the WFP has failed to provide an alternative. Despite our appeals to end this situation, the camp has been abandoned,” she added.
“In addition to the absence of food supplies, the camp lacks detergents and medicine,” according to the official.
Mahmoud al-Issa, co-chair of the Social Affairs and Labor Committee in Tabqa, also stated that “the catastrophe is not limited to al-Mahmoudli camp alone, but also includes eight other makeshift camps in Tabqa.”
Tabqa has eight makeshift camps, with 1,085 families and 6,147 IDPs, as well as the permanent Tweihinyah camp, which is the second-largest camp and houses 857 families or 4,235 IDPs. Additionally, there are 15 shelters that house 1,485 people.