Declining services at Serekaniye camp worsen IDPs’ hardship 

The hardships facing displaced people at Serekaniye camp are worsening as basic services, particularly electricity and water, remain unavailable amid rising temperatures, while residents await the date of their return to their city after years of displacement. 

Camp residents say the withdrawal of most civil society organizations in recent months has led to a significant decline in services, making living conditions inside the camp more difficult and remaining there increasingly harsh. 

In response, displaced people are calling for guarantees ensuring their safe return to their areas, along with financial compensation to help them repair and rebuild their homes damaged by the war. 

During ANHA agency's tour of the camp, displaced resident Hozan Khalil, from the Zardasht neighborhood of Serekaniye, said the regular electricity supply had been cut off since the recent events, while generator electricity experiences repeated outages every two days without an explanation for the reasons. 

He added that residents had repeatedly protested to demand improved services, but their demands received no response. Organizations previously provided bread before ending their support, forcing residents to buy it at their own expense, amid the refusal to accept the old Syrian currency in many places.

Khalil stressed that their main demand is a safe return, saying, "We do not want to return only to face new suffering. We have endured years of displacement, and today we deserve security and stability." 

For his part, displaced resident Omar Hilal Azzo, from the Expansion Section of the camp, said they have been living without electricity for about two months, whether from the public grid or generators. 

He called for compensation for displaced people to enable them to rebuild their homes after returning.

Displaced resident Mahmoud Ezz al-Din, from the village of Al-Azama in the countryside of Sari Kani, said the priority is to guarantee a safe return to their original areas and ensure they are free of mines, allowing residents to resume their agricultural work. 

He added that most homes had been destroyed or deteriorated during the years of displacement and called for financial support to help families repair their homes and return to a stable life. He stressed that their most important demand is to live safely and with dignity in their city.

A-H 

ANHA