181,000 families affected in Northern Syria as government appeals to organizations

The suffering of displaced Syrians in camps across northern Syria has worsened following the recent snowstorm that hit the region, amid a clear failure to meet basic needs and an increasing reliance by the transitional government on charitable associations and humanitarian organizations to provide the relief gap.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor in the transitional government announced that more than 181,000 families were affected by the snowstorm that swept through displacement camps, stressing that the response should focus on providing heating materials, water, food, shelter, as well as health and educational support, to be delivered by non-governmental organizations and relief associations operating in the area.

Displaced people in several camps told various media outlets that services are unavailable and that the response remains limited and does not match the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe, especially amid the sharp drop in temperatures and the damage to thousands of tents caused by snow and strong winds.

This shortcoming comes despite the passage of a year since the fall of the Baath regime and the transitional government’s claims that resolving the issue of the camps is a top priority. However, realities on the ground point to the absence of practical and serious plans to achieve this goal.

The camps, which were supposed to be a temporary solution according to the displaced, have turned into semi-permanent places of residence lacking the most basic requirements of humane living. Meanwhile, the homes of the displaced in their original towns and villages remain destroyed or uninhabitable, with no clear reconstruction programs or compensation mechanisms in place.

A-H 

ANHA