ReliefWeb

Syria Relief have released a report today which reveals the sacrifices displaced Syrian families have to make in order to survive winter. In a survey of 1,119 displaced Syrians from inside Northwest Syria IDP camps and the Lebanese refugee camps, *Choosing Heating Instead Of Eating: The sacrifices displaced Syrians have to make to survive their worst winter yet, *Syria Relief have found:

• Only 20% of Syrians didn’t have to go without basic items to survive winter and only 19% did not have to sell anything in order to pay for winter items.
• 93% of Syrian IDPs and 88% of Syrian refugees were prepared to sell items this winter.
• 44% of Syrians sacrificed food to stay warm last winter. Displaced Syrians also sacrificed medicine and hygiene products in 1 in 5 cases.
• Items such as food, hygiene and medicine were the most comment sacrificed in order to survive last winter.
• The most common type of item IDPs in Syria believed they would have to sell to survive this winter is their means of transport (18%, compared to 16% of refugees in Lebanon) whereas 60% of refugees in Lebanon said they fear they’ll have to sell food to pay for materials to keep them warm this winter (as opposed to 16% of IDPs in Northwest Syria).

This report comes as the region has just faced its worst winter storm in over half a century. Two babies froze to death last week alone and three children also died due to the cold the week before.

Charles Lawley, Syria Relief’s Head of Communications and Advocacy, and the report’s author says

“There are 13.4 million Syrians in need of some form of humanitarian assistance, 12.4 million people suffering from food insecurity and 12.2 million lacking regular access to clean water[iii]. 13.5 million Syrians have been forced from their homes, 6.8 million Syrians are refugees and 6.7 million people are internally displaced inside Syria.

“These atrocious indicators of poverty are only numbers; the reality is that families are going without food and medicine, over 2.4 million children have not been to school in years[v] - some ever - and hundreds of thousands are forced to live in tents inside Syria and in the neighbouring countries like Lebanon and Jordan. Life is very difficult, all year round. But then there’s winter.

“The winter months makes life exponentially tougher for Syrians, especially displaced Syrians forced to live in informal shelter such as tents, inside and outside of the country. At its worst, temperatures drop to around minus 4, minus 5, even as low as minus 15. Combined with snow and flooding, families barely able to afford to eat must ensure they have adequate heating, clothing and that their tents and temporary shelters are fixed.”

Wassim Khmaja, the Country Director for Syria Relief, says:

“This is the hardest winter Syrian IDPs have ever experienced. They have faced a decade of winters, where many have frozen to death and had diseases and illnesses exacerbated by the freezing temperatures, but the winter of 2021/22 will be the worst they have faced yet. Northern Syria has just faced its worst snowstorm in 54 years.

“Not only is the poverty at unprecedented levels, meaning people are not able to afford provisions for fighting the cold temperatures and winter weather, but climate change is making harsher weather more common. Bad weather has the potential to destroy tents and block roads and infrastructure, preventing humanitarian aid workers, like Syria Relief, from reaching vulnerable communities to deliver vital humanitarian assistance.”

The report calls on international donors to

• Increase their funding to support Syrians through winterisation projects
• Increase programming which addresses other symptoms of poverty exacerbated by winter
• Seek a greener alternative to fuel for displaced Syrians to heat their shelter, which does not cause humanitarian suffering during fluctuation in prices
• Support the building of permanent homes and shelters for displaced Syrians living in informal accommodation