As a host to Syria’s forcefully displaced, what does Idlib province require?

(Eqtsad) It is called green Idlib due to the large number of olive trees planted in it. Idlib province is located south west of Aleppo city in the north of Syria.

It is situated 60 kilometers away from Aleppo city, 132 kilometers away from Latakia city, 330 kilometers away from Damascus, 168 kilometers away from Homs, and 105 kilometers away from Hama.

The province is estimated to be 6000 square kilometers and composed of the following areas, Maaret en-Numan area, Ariha area, Jisr al-Shugur area, Harem area to which dozens of districts and villages belong.

As other Syrian provinces, Idlib city and countryside joined the Syrian revolution against Bashar al-Assad, but the regime maintained its control over the city center and some locations in the areas of Jisr al-Shugur and Ariha until Jaish al-Fateh managed to liberate the city in the end of April 2015.

Despite the al-Assad regime and its Russian ally continuing to target Idlib’s provincial capital, areas, towns and villages, the province remains a refuge for hundreds of thousands of Syrians from different parts of Syria who migrated to it.

In the most recent period, hundreds of rebels and families preferred to leave their towns in Damascus countryside from such areas as Daraya, Muadamiya, Qadsaya, al-Hameh, and some families from al-Mezza and Kfar Sousah. These people refused to remain in their areas following settlements with the regime whereby the regime regained control over the areas. 

The settlements came after the regime and its militia allies besieging and starving the local population in the areas.

Following these settlements, 21,000 displaced person arrived from al-Muadamiya, 1,287 from Qadsaya and al-Hameh, 750 from Daraya, and 186 families were forcefully removed from al-Zabadani and Madaya according to Moayad Shaker the regional manager of the General Association for Refugees and Development.

Several factors pushed those displaced persons to choose Idlib province as their destination according to Shaker. 

Of the factors are: the presence of a civilian administration in the city and its countryside, the presence of dozens of aid, medical and educational organizations, the dispersion of border camps, and its proximity to Turkish territories as many families choose to seek refuge in Turkey by crossing the border illegally.

Shaker expected that the province and its countryside will witness an increase in the number of internally displaced persons and exiles coming to it in the event the regime succeeds in forcing the majority of residents of the besieged Damascene countryside to migrate.

According to Shaker, the current population of Idlib province is approximately 3.2 million, and of them 1.2 million are from Idlib province and its countryside, and around 2 million are internally displaced people from other parts of Syria. The numbers are estimates of the Idlib provincial council and the Administration to Manage Migrant Issues.

The number of camps dispersed along the border and in highly residential areas has risen to more than 300 camps.

A special source from the General Relief Directorate in Idlib which is subordinate to the City Administration, who refused to reveal his name, confirmed that the province is also witnessing reverse migrations and waves of people seeking refuge in the Turkish territories.

The source added that around 200 families try to cross to Turkish territories every day by crossing illegal border crossing points such as in the areas of Kharbet al-Jouz, Hatya, and Harm. Many of those attempting usually fail and return to Syria.

The source added that the province has become a destination for everyone the regime forces to migrate and most of the organizations do not respond to the event until after its occurrence and the arrival of internally displaced persons. 

The source saw it as necessary to start a united emergency room composed of all the local councils. 

This operation room would be subordinate to Idlib City Administration. It would be prepared and ready at all times to welcome internally displaced persons, transport them, and provide them with a place to live and shelter.

The source called for work to prepare emergency camps and shelters, and for greater cooperation and coordination between all the local councils in the province and its countryside to distribute the migrants and exilees across the province’s cities and towns based on the capabilities of areas.

With the approach of winter, the rise in the price of diesel and wood used by the province residents for heating, alternative means of heating need to be found in the event of a lack of diesel fuel. 

It is also necessary to stop cutting timber and benefit from olive pips as a heating source as it is readily available in the province; olives are considered the province’s most important crop. In addition, there is a need to provide a store of bedding, blankets and winter clothing.

In his conversation, the source called on the local association, organizations and charities present in the province and its countryside to support small agricultural projects that are based on the principle of cash for work in a bid to limit the migration of young men to Turkish territories.

The source also called on these actors to establish projects suitable for women such as sewing workshops, and for them to support the education and health sectors, and provide minimum living requirements for the province’s residents.