Free housing for Lebanon returnees in Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafieh neighborhoods

 The number of arrivals from Lebanon to the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo has reached 1,331 people, according to the crisis cell.

Accordingly, the cell is working to secure housing for returnees and send others to the camps in the Afrin and Shahba cantons.

 ANHA Agency conducted an interview with the member of the crisis cell and the Co-Chair of the Martyr Jenkiz neighborhood council, Mustafa Hamo.

 Hamo indicated that they have taken a number of measures to provide housing for returnees from Lebanon after the issuance of a decision by the General Council to form the crisis cell for receiving the returnees from our Syrian families.

 He said that whoever owns a property in the two neighborhoods (a house or a shop) must show proof to the official authorities to work on handing over those properties, on the condition that they are used for housing and not for renting and exploiting the current crisis.

 He pointed out that rent-free housing is granted to those coming from Lebanon within the neighborhood if they do not own homes.

Accordingly, they are housed in houses within the communes according to the procedures of the Contracts and Housing Office, and after completing the security procedures.

 The Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo are distinguished by features that can be described as unique in Syria or the region as a whole, through the issuance of a decision by the General Council of the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods, stipulating the prohibition of renting and mortgaging empty homes.

 According to the General Council, the goal of the decision that was taken at the beginning of its formation in 2012 is to secure free housing for those displaced from war zones, in addition to some people with limited income, and to alleviate the economic burdens on them.

 It indicates that the decision was issued with the approval of all representatives of the components in the two neighborhoods, due to the difficult living conditions resulting from the crisis and war in Syria.

 Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood witnessed a wave of displacement as a result of the escalation of clashes in the city in 2012, which led to the emptying of many homes.

 These homes later became a refuge for residents from inside and outside the city.

 As for the returnees who do not have any property or relatives in the two neighborhoods, Hamo said that coordination is taking place with the crisis cell in the Afrin Shahba canton to secure a route for them to the camps in the canton within the agreed-upon procedures.

 At the end of his speech, Mustafa Hamo called on all humanitarian organizations to take into consideration the medical and food needs of the returnees, as they are going through difficult times.

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ANHA