AL-HAWL CAMP, Syria — Amid the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) advance toward areas controlled by the Islamic State (IS), thousands of Syrian civilians have fled the cities of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor in the east of the country, where IS proclaimed its caliphate in June 2014.
Abdul Sattar, who hails from the IS-controlled town of al-Bukamal, which lies southeast of Deir ez-Zor, told Al-Monitor how he was stuck for 18 days with his wife and three children in the desert surrounded by mines. They had to walk to Rajm al-Salibi, which is located in the countryside of Hasakah and under the control of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).
Abdul Sattar preferred not to disclose his full name to protect his family members who are still stranded in al-Bukamal. “When we decided to escape, we knew we would be facing death. We were dead there, and we could die any minute now,” he said.
He described his decision to escape as “bold,” saying, “We seldom heard the news there. I heard a month ago that the international coalition started the Raqqa battle. I got excited and decided to escape at the beginning of the month with my family."
On Nov. 5, the SDF started Operation Euphrates Wrath with the participation of 30,000 Arab and Kurdish fighters to expel IS jihadis from Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, IS’ most prominent strongholds in Syria, with the support of the US-led international coalition.
But Abdul Sattar’s hardships, along with other displaced families, did not end once they arrived at Rajm al-Salibi. Abdul Sattar was stuck at the border for 20 days. Those escaping IS-controlled areas to al-Hawl camp, which is located in Hasakah province and was established on March 24, are subject to precautionary security measures by the YPG aimed at preventing any IS members from infiltrating.
Manal from Deir ez-Zor told Al-Monitor that she had to sell her furniture and her Tefal cooking pans to secure the amount required by the person securing her escape, as the transportation and smuggling fees have increased.
Manal, who refused to reveal her full name, said, “The person securing my escape asked us for $2,000. We did not have that amount of money, so we decided to sell our house and furniture to secure that sum.”
Manal now lives in a tent in al-Hawl camp with her husband, two daughters and a young baby. The tent measures about 4 square meters (43 square feet) and is divided in a space to sleep and sit, and has a small kitchen. They were given mats, three blankets and three sponge mattresses.
“We are five people, but we were only handed provisions for three. It gets really cold at night and the blankets cannot keep us warm. We went from bad to worse,” Manal said. “I had a big kitchen and a dining room. Now we are eating and sleeping in the same space.”
Thousands of displaced persons face harsh conditions in al-Hawl camp with the cold weather and the absence of health care, medicine and drinking water.
Yerevan Hussein, the director of al-Hawl camp and coordinator of foreign relations at the camp, said that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is working on expanding al-Hawl camp.
“The UNHCR is working to accommodate 100,000 displaced people and refugees and is erecting 10,000 additional tents because the camp receives two batches of refugees on a weekly basis, and each batch ranges from 300 to 500 refugees,” she told Al-Monitor.
Read more:
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/11/syria-raqqa-deir-ez-zor-displaced-camps-border.html
