Alternative heating materials | Displaced people in Idlib camps turn to using garbage for heating, amid dreadful living conditions and humanitarian organisations’ inaction

With the freezing temperature in winters, thousands of displaced families have been suffering from a tragic situation in refugee camps in Idlib city and countryside, especially since most of those families are extremely poor and unable to secure their essentials, such as heating materials, cloths and food, in light of the soaring prices. Meanwhile, humanitarian organisations have taken no action to put an end to the crisis, and they seem satisfied with the insufficient amounts of support.

 

In the past few days, the prices of heating materials have risen considerably in north Syria region, where the price of a ton of fire logs has reached 130 USD up to 175 USD, the price of pyrene has approximated 130 USD a ton, while the price of a ton of nut shells ranges between 190 USD and 275 USD. These high prices have spurred displaced families to turn to alternative heating materials, where many started to use plastic objects, used and worn clothes, plastic bags and other flammable objects which they collect at landfills.

 

Speaking to SOHR, a 48 displaced woman known by her initials as S. A. living in a camp in Armanaz area in Idlib countryside says “we ran out of fire logs which my husband had bought with the beginning of winter, and we have no ability to buy more logs. Accordingly, we found ourselves obligated to collect used plastic objects and sticks in areas surrounding the camp to use them for heating. The humanitarian organisations have not provided any assistance in winter and the promises of an organisation to provide bags of coal to every family remain unfulfilled. The situation in winter is harsh and all displaced people in the camp are struggling with the extremely-cold weather for days.”

 

According to displaced people, only a few humanitarian organisations have continued to provide assistance in north Syria region, as many organisations have stopped providing assistance in the region; this spurred many displaced people to sell the food baskets, even after having waited so long to receive them, in order to buy heating materials and essentials.

 

Another 34-year-old displaced man known as S. K. from west Hama countryside and now living in a camp in Deir Hassan area in northern Idlib, has told SOHR “I found myself obligated to sell the food basket which I had received from a humanitarian organisation operating in north Syria in order to buy a small amount of fire logs, as no organisations provide heating materials. In every group of a large number of camps in Deir Hassan area, there is only one organisation providing small amounts of heating materials to only a few tents. I appeal to all humanitarian organisations in north Syria to help displaced people in camps and secure their essentials. Many families have returned to sell their food baskets, which they had received from organisations, in order to get money needed for securing their essentials.”

 

It is worth noting that the prices of food supplies in Idlib city and countryside have noticeably increased, further burdening displaced people in refugee camps, especially with the ongoing freefall of the Turkish currency which is adopted in north Syria region as the formal currency, where the Turkish lira against the US dollar recorded 19.20 TL.

 

SOHR activists have monitored the latest prices of vegetables and fruit in north Idlib countryside, which are set as follows:

 

• Tomato: Ten TL a kilogram.

 

• Potato: Five TL a kilogram.

 

• Onion: Six TL a kilogram.

 

• Eggplant: Seven TL a kilogram.

 

• Pepper: Four TL a kilogram.

 

• Flower: Five TL a kilogram.

 

• Cabbage: Three TL a kilogram.

 

• Lettuce: Two TL a kilogram.

 

• Carrot: Five TL a kilogram.

 

In the meantime, displaced Syrians in Idlib camps have shoulder more burdens a day after another in light of the lack of workable solutions enabling them to return to their areas.