Syrian Refugees Suffer Double Threat Of Severe Winter, Less Aid
A bitter cold snap has descended on the Middle East; in Lebanon, they call the storm Zeina. And in a muddy cluster of tents and huts close to the city of Saida, refugees from neighboring Syria say she showed no mercy.
"The wind, the wind, God almighty, it was a storm," says one Syrian woman, Gamra al-Khalil. A tree fell on her corrugated-metal shack, crushing half of it, just missing her family.
"It's this year that's the worst," Khalil says. "We're dying of cold."
As the war in Syria nears its fifth year, the misery of the severe weather is compounded by the fact that these refugees are getting less help than ever.
A Lebanese aid worker is stomping through the mud and a rain-swelled stream at the camp near Saida. He doesn't give his name because he's not authorized to speak for his NGO.
"As you see in this situation here, it's really awful," he says. "Of course the humanitarian agencies, the UNHCR is working and intervening, but it's not enough."
Syrian refugee children at the camp near Saida try to make a fire to keep warm, but the damp brush produces more smoke than heat. Most have no access to school and are forced to spend their days in the camp.
More than 3 million Syrians – more than one in ten – have fled their country.
About a million of them are believed to be in Lebanon, a tiny place where there are no formal camps for Syrian refugees. So hundreds of thousands of them live in tents, shacks or abandoned buildings — not good protection against this week's snow, rain and high winds.
And there's another thing, says Mariam al-Sayyam, another refugee. This winter isn't just colder than last year, they are receiving less help than last year, she says.
The United Nations, which supports the vast bulk of these refugees, issued extra ration cards and oil for heaters last winter. This year, there's none of that.
I reach the U.N.'s Lisa Abou Khaled in the snowy Bekaa Valley on the border with Syria. She says they just don't have the resources to help everyone.
"We've had to prioritize the bigger amount of assistance to the most vulnerable, which is ... a very small percentage of our whole target populations," Khaled says, referring to refugees who are living at high altitude.
Syrian refugees carry gasoline under heavy snow fall at the a U.N.-run refugee camp of Fayda near the Bekaa Valley town of Zahle in eastern Lebanon on Jan. 7.
The U.N. is the largest of many organizations to say that as the war drags on, their funding is drying up. Late last year, the World Food Program said it would have to halt much of its work feeding refugees. That prompted a rush of cash, and the program continued, but shortfalls are likely to reappear.
A surge in the number of people that need help also has put pressure on aid agencies. In Iraq last year, fighting spilled over from Syria, displacing more than 2 million people. Hundreds of thousands of them are in the frigid mountains in the north of the country.
And as Syria and Iraq continue to fragment and see vicious internal conflict, the refugees and displaced will not soon go home.
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Transcript
RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
It would be hard to make life even tougher for the millions of refugees who fled the wars in Iraq and Syria. But Syrian refugees say this is their coldest winter in the camps, and they're getting less help than ever. NPR's Alice Fordham has more.
ALICE FORDHAM, BYLINE: In Lebanon, they called the storm Xena, and in this muddy cluster of tents and huts close to the city of Saida, Syrian refugees say she showed no mercy.
GAMRA AL KHALIL: (Foreign language spoken).
FORDHAM: "The wind, the wind, God Almighty, it was a storm," says Gamra al Khalil. A tree fell on her corrugated metal shack, crushing half of it, just missing her family.
AL KHALIL: (Foreign language spoken).
FORDHAM: "It's this year that's the worst," she says. "We're dying of cold." Stomping through the mud and a rain-swelled stream is one Lebanese aid worker who doesn't give his name because he's not authorized to speak for his NGO.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Actually, as you see in the situation here, it's really awful. Of course the humanitarian agencies - the UNHCR is working, intervening, but it's not enough.
FORDHAM: More than 3 million Syrians, more than 1 in 10, have fled their country. About a million of them are believed to be in Lebanon, a tiny place where there are no formal camps for Syrian refugees, so hundreds of thousands live in tents, shacks or abandoned buildings - not good protection against this week's snow, rain and high winds.
MARIAM AL SAYYAM: (Foreign language spoken).
FORDHAM: And there's another thing. Mariam Al Sayyam says this winter's not just colder than last year; there's less help than last year. The United Nations, which supports the vast bulk of these refugees, issued extra ration cards and oil for heaters last winter. This year, there's none of that. I reached the U.N.'s Lisa Abou Khaled in the snowy Beqaa Valley on the border with Syria, who says they just don't have the resources to help everyone.
LISA ABOU KHALED: Well, we've had to prioritize the bigger amount of assistance to the most vulnerable, which is only a very - I mean, if you will, a very small percentage of our whole target population.
FORDHAM: The U.N. is the largest of many organizations to say as the war drags on, their funding is drying up. Late last year, the World Food Program said it would have to halt much of its work feeding refugees. That prompted a rush of cash, and the program continued. But shortfalls are likely to reappear.
A surge in the number of people that need help has also put pressure on aid agencies. In Iraq last year, more than 2 million people were displaced after fighting spilled over from Syria. Hundreds of thousands of them are in the frigid mountains in the North of the country. And as Syria and Iraq continue to fragment and see vicious internal conflict, the refugees and displaced will not soon go home. Alice Fordham, NPR News.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
We're just going to keep tracking what we know and do not know about the developing situation outside Paris where authorities have cornered two men believed to be the suspects in this week's Paris massacre. They're inside an industrial building. We know, according to the authorities, that police have made phone contact with the suspects. We do not know for certain if they have a hostage, although there are reports to that effect. We do not know if they're willing to negotiate, if they will, in time, be willing to surrender. We will continue tracking this story throughout the morning as we learn more, fact by fact, minute by minute, on MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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