Looming crisis | High prices of alternative heating materials burden displaced people in north Syria region with the beginning of winter

As winters approaches, Syrian civilians in north Syria region, particularly displaced people in refugee camps, shoulder further burdens and face considerable challenges to secure materials used for heating during the extreme cold weather. The prices of alternative heating materials used in north Syria have reached to a level unaffordable by many families, especially in light of the extreme poverty, unemployment, ongoing Turkish currency plunge and the low income of workers and employees. Accordingly, most of displaced people in northern Syria find themselves forced to search for cheaper  methods and materials for heating.

 

According to SOHR sources, the prices of some materials used for heating, which are exclusively sold in the US dollar, have increased greatly. Here a list of the latest prices of some heating materials:

 

• Pistachio shells: 250 USD per a ton.

 

• Fire logs: 180 USD per a ton.

 

• Coal: 140 USD per a ton.

 

Owners of stores selling these materials have justified and attributed the rising prices to the fact that these materials are exported from Turkey for high prices, while taxes are imposed by Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham at Bab Al-Hawa crossing. In addition, the low value of Turkish lira against the US dollar and the cost of transporting these materials are negatively affected the prices and prevented families from storing large quantities of those materials.

 

Locals and civil activists have launched a campaign for boycotting buying alternative heating materials this winter in order to force merchants to decrease their prices to a level matching poor financial abilities of the region’s inhabitants, especially displaced families in refugee camps. This campaigns comes after the increase of prices of alternative heating materials by 40% compared to last year’s prices, amid expectations of raising the prices further with the beginning of cold weather and rainfall.

 

Civilians in north Syria have complained of stockpiling large quantities of alternative heating materials, specially pistachio shells, by many merchants and shop owners who refuse to sell their goods before winter, while many merchants wait until the middle of winter, when most of families consume the materials they had bought, so they find themselves forced to buy heating material for much higher prices.

 

In light of the skyrocketing prices of alternative heating materials, many families in refugee camps turn to use other unsafe methods for heating and collect inflammable materials, such as pyrene, used clothes, plastic bags and used items, and set fire on them or put in primitive stoves. These materials release gases causing respiratory diseases, while the unsafe methods of using these material leads to fires; let alone their bad smells.

 

It is worth noting that humanitarian organisation and relevant authorities in that region, namely the “Salvation Government,” continue their inaction and do not provide any support or heating materials to displaced people in refugee camps, most of which are located on the border strip between Syria and the Turkish Iskenderun region.