The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Sarout camp, catastrophic conditions in a self-made forgotten camp northwest of Syria

The “Sarout” camp tops the list of the most affected camps in northwestern Syria due to heavy rains during the past hours, where it is one of the random camps newly established after the escalation operation by the regime forces and its Russian ally on villages and towns of the southern countryside of Idlib and the northern and western countryside of Hama, it was established near the border with Iskenderun fleeing the inferno of the interior areas.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored catastrophic conditions among residents of the camp, where the camp suffers from poor living and service conditions as tens of displaced families live there, mostly from Jabal Shashabo villages in the western countryside of Hama, and according to what the Syrian Observatory monitored: the camp was severely damaged by heavy rain, and it is estimated that more than 130 families live in the camp, who built the camp with their own efforts at the beginning of their displacement on the 10th of August 2019.

And according to the “Syrian Observatory’s” sources, families in the camp suffer from extreme poverty, in light of burdens and costs of renting houses, also the majority of these families depend on agriculture to collect their source of income, but they came out under the weight of heavy and intense shelling on the villages, towns, and residential neighborhoods.

And like the other random camps in the Syrian north, no assistance has been provided by humanitarian organizations operating in the Syrian north, while those in charge of the camp appealed to many humanitarian organizations and institutions to help build the camp, prepare its ground, and provide it with some necessary services, but they did not received the slightest of help, reliable sources said: “we have not received any response from them, as the camp lacks many of the basics such as sanitation, toilets, medical point, and a school for children, also it suffers severe shortage in number of tents, and the deterioration of its soil ground, where after days of heavy rain; the camp sank more than once, and its ground turned to pools and swamps, and the families suffered a lot because the water entered the tents and damaged them, while the only road to the outside of the camp was closed, which increased the burden of displacement. The camp’s residents need urgent assistance to ensure that they stay in this forgotten camp, given the economic conditions facing the citizens of unemployment, high prices, and the shortage and high prices of fuel and heating materials.”