Reports | 25 05 2020
All along the border with Turkey live thousands of Syrian families, in tents made of nylon that offer no protection against the high heat of the sun. This forces residents of the camps where people outside their tents, towards the nearby olive trees which have began to serve as a second shelter to them.
Abu Adnan al-Dabiqi, a resident of the Akdeh refugee camp near Izaz, tells Rozana: “As early as the break of dawn, the heat of the sun becomes unbearable. We therefore resort to orchards and bask in the shadows, keeping ourselves moist throughout the day water throughout the day to try and temper the intense heat."
Abu Adnan protests the poor services available in the camp; particularly the absence of a medical emergency clinic. He adds: "Children exposed to heatstroke require immediate treatment—not to wait for hours for a bus to arrive and take them to field hospitals."
Threat to Children
The lack of health care in the camps and the increasingly high temperatures, are causing the children a host of diseases and ailments—including meningitis which caused the death of infant Youssef Hourani aged nine months, in the Iman camp in the Aleppo countryside.
Pediatrician Samir Moussa, Syrian Refugee camps’ supervisor, recommends a copious intake of healthy drinking water. Says he: "Given the camp residents’ exposure to the sun, body temperature is liable to rise with an increase in heavy perspiration. This, in turn, leads to a relapse in the functioning of the kidneys thereby causing a so-called heat stroke."
The doctor believes that the best solution to this issue is making an abundant supply of [drinking] water available to these camps; as well as drinking copious quantities of water—particularly by children, the elderly, diabetes and blood pressure patients.
The Heatwave “Strikes” all Camps
Neither have Syrian camps inside Turkish territory been spared the extremely high temperatures, that have continued well into the month of September.
Abu al-Nour, a refugee of the Kilis refugee camp, also complains of rising temperatures inside his steel caravan compartment. He states that it is the women and children who most suffer the severe heat wave—particularly with the continuous water interruptions.
Following the severe heat wave that has continued into this current month of September, and which the refugees have suffered; many camp residents inside Syria decided to return to their homes, the difficult circumstances of the war notwithstanding.
The number of displaced people in the Aleppo countryside numbers circa two hundred thousand, spread between several camps, the largest of which is the al-Salamah camp near the border crossing with Turkey.