LÎNA EL-XETÎB

Idlib- In winter, women living in internally displaced people (IDPs) camps in Idlib suffer more. Whenever it rains, everywhere becomes muddy and rainwater leaks into the tents. NuJINHA spoke to women living in these camps.

‘Rainwater leaks into our tent whenever it rains’

Our tents are not suitable for winter conditions, said 33-year-old Tasneem Hattab. “I live in the Harbanoush camp in Idlib with my four children and husband. Rainwater leaks into our tent whenever it rains. In addition, everywhere becomes muddy. Old people have difficulty walking on muddy ground. Whenever it rains, we have to drain rainwater from our tent.”

‘Our children often get sick’

Tasneem Hattab dug a trench around their tent to prevent rainwater from entering the tent. “Due to unhealthy conditions in the camp, our children often get sick. Health centers are far away from here so we cannot take our children there. We also cannot buy drugs for our children due to their high prices.”

‘Humanitarian aid organizations should see our tragedy and suffering’

41-year-old Mahasin Al-Bari tries to hold on to life with her five children in the Killi camp located in the north of Idlib. “Whenever it rains, everything in the camp becomes muddy. We have to burn household items and plastic to keep ourselves and our children warm due to high prices of fuel. Our tents are very old, unsuitable for winter conditions. Whenever it rains, rainwater leaks into our tents. Humanitarian aid organizations should see our tragedy and suffering’

55-year-old Ayuş Al-Hatice, who lives in an IDPs camp located in Jisr ash-Shughūr, a town of Idlib, told us that her life turned into a tragedy when her tent flooded due to heavy rain. “We have lived in our neighbors’ tent. My husband died of cancer. I live alone without any source of income. My health deteriorates in winter.”