Millions of displaced Syrians will spend a fifth bitterly cold winter in the unending Syrian crisis. All tell similarly sad stories of displacement from homes, fear of the biting cold and lack of water, food and electricity. Their choice is stark: to bring food for their children or to keep them warm. For most, neither is affordable.
Um and Abu Mohammed, living in a school in Kessweh, rural Damascus, which is now a centre for displaced people.
“Our love and sorrow has grown during the last four years.”
Abu Mohammed suffers from heart problems. His wife, who suffers from serious medical problems, blushes when he flatters her. They live alone as all their children and grandchildren are dispersed within the country or abroad. They have also lost a son during the long conflict.
A wood-fired heater sits in the middle of their small room. Um Mohammed explains that she has prepared well for the coming winter: “I have been collecting anything that we can burn to stay warm, including the dried stems of mint and parsley.”
When Abu Mohammed tries to speak about his life back in Darayya, his eyes glisten with tears of love, hope and deep sadness, and he changes the subject. His wife speaks on his behalf and says: “Let’s stay in the present. The sweetness of the old days hurts.”
Um Abdul Rahman, displaced in Tariq al-Bab district of eastern Aleppo.
“If our situation this winter is the same as last winter then I would say that death is better for myself and my children.”
Um Abdul Rahman is a widow and mother of five children. She fled her house when it was destroyed in an attack, and moved to another poor neighbourhood of Eastern Aleppo.
“I was very tired last winter getting aid from here and there. After asking for help from people, I used to feel regretful and started burning my children’s belongings as fuel until I was given some fuel and firewood. I thanked God for this aid, but then we ran out of fuel and I didn’t know how to get more.”
The family depends on the few donations Um Abdul Rahman receives from her neighbours and she is worried about keeping her children warm as winter approaches.
“Last winter we were afraid of the dark, cold nights, and waiting for the sun to come out the next day so we could feel warm again.”
Abdul Rahman, displaced in Tariq al-Bab district of eastern Aleppo.
Like other residents of the area, ten-year old Abdul Rahman, the oldest of his brothers, has to collect rubbish to burn as fuel for cooking and heating. Two of his brothers are mentally handicapped and he has to support his mother to make a living.
Om Arabi, displaced from Darayya in 2012 and now living in a refugee centre in Kessweh, rural Damascus.
“I feel the cold in my bones every winter it hurts, but my heart is always warm.”
Om Arabi’s nephew Mohammed managed, with the help of others, to bring his 105-year-old aunt to a centre for the displaced in Kessweh, where he lives with his family.
“I had to leave everything after my children left me behind,” recalls Om Arabi. Ever since she moved to the centre, volunteers of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent have been taking care of her. Although Om Arabi fears the coming winter, she says: “Thank God, I am much better off than millions of others.”
Qasem, displaced in a collective shelter in Kessweh, Rural Damascus.
Three-and-a-half year old Qasem lives in the collective shelter set up for displaced people who fled to Kessweh from nearby areas hit by heavy fighting. With winter approaching, Qasem has just been given newwinter clothes as part of the combined Syrian Arab Red Crescent-ICRC humanitarian assistance programme. He looks warm and happy now.
Jannud and Amina, displaced in Jabal Badro, eastern Aleppo, and living with his family in a half-destroyed building.
“Whenever the girls want to shower they have to go and collect rubbish.”
Jannud is the father of six children and husband to Amina. Jannud and some of his children make daily trips around Jabal Badro searching for items that can be used as fuel for cooking and heating.
Jannud’s mother also lives with the family. With so many family members to take care of, Amina says they barely have enough money for food and cannot afford to buy firewood or warm winter clothing, or even to make repairs to their house which was damaged in the bombing of their neighbourhood.
“We cannot afford to buy a heater to keep our children warm.” Amina’s biggest fear is the upcoming winter. Last winter her family struggled to survive because much of their clothing, blankets, mattresses and other belongings were destroyed in the ongoing conflict.
Maram, living in an old school being used to host displaced people in Kessweh, rural Damascus.
“Mama says that because I am growing so quickly, she has to bring me new clothes every winter.”
Nine-year-old Maram fled her home in Daraya four years ago. “I don’t remember my friends there, but I love it here. I have great friends who play with me and help me with my homework.” She and her friends were happy to receive their new warm clothes.
Maram dreams of becoming an ophthalmologist. “I like to look into people’s eyes,” she says. She is eager to start work and provide an income for her family.
When she received her new winter clothes from the ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, she quickly put on her new tracksuit. “It feels warm inside,” she said, smiling, and went out to play with her friends.
Nadia and her grandson Yazan living in an unfinished building in Kessweh, rural Damascus.
Ten-year-old Yazan and his 60-year-old grandmother Nadia live in a small room in an unfinished building which also houses 100 other people.
Yazan has suffered from epilepsy since early childhood. After his mother died, Yazan’s father handed him to Nadia. She used to live in a big house with a beautiful courtyard in Daraya along with her nine children. “it was a paradise,” she says. They had to flee Daraya three years ago when fighting intensified.
As soon as Nadia reached the collective shelter, she started working. She saved enough money to buy an old manual sewing machine which she uses to make clothes. She is very proud and happy that despite everything she is able to work and can afford medication for her beloved Yazan.
Nadia knows that her room will be constantly cold and that water will continue to leak through the walls and ceiling, but she prays that her grandson will feel better and warmer with his new winter clothes.
Since the beginning of the Syria crisis, the ICRC, in cooperation with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), are working together to respond to the increasing needs of the most vulnerable people inside Syria.
