Bread crisis continues in Talbiseh town near Homs, pleas ignored

Reporting by Maher Radhwan, Writing to Zaman English by Dani Murad

HOMS (Zaman Al Wasl)- As the bitter conflict in Syria continues, we weren’t surprised when it came to our knowledge that in addition to the bread crisis for two weeks in Talbiseh, a new health crisis emerges in the city due to the lack of medicine, and according to the representative of the local council and field hospital inTalbiseh Abdul Razzaq Abu Mahmoud, the town is experiencing the worst circumstances ever since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011.

Although our topic was mainly the dilemma of bread, but we couldn’t ignore regime’s fierce military campaign that targeted Talbiseh, 6 km north of Homs, for more than a week, which exacerbated the tragedy due to the additional restrictions on people’s movements under the bombardment, in addition to the killing of about 80 people and wounding more than 200, mostly civilians, during the 5 days. And according to a medical source from the field hospital, the hospitals are suffering a shortage of medicine and supply as a result of the many series cases that needed treatment.

According to sources inside Talbiseh, the bread crisis has overshadowed the town and its surroundings in the countryside of Homs, for more than a month, and the suffering has forced 70 thousand people to plea the world to provide them with “stale bread”, after their calls fell on deaf ears and found no echo among institutions of opposition, the Coalition, or the Interim Government, and were only given promises and decisions that are still ink on paper.

All the town desperate calls were fruitless and they couldn’t make the world or the opposition understand their agony and hunger, and therefore a delegation from the town went to the headquarter of the coalition and the interim government, enduring the dangers and hardships on the road, hoping for a rescue solution since permanent solutions are out of reach in the mean time.

Nasser and Rajoub, two Sheikhs who have just come from Talbisah, explained the crisis to Zaman Al Wasl, revealing that the local council has submitted a project to provide a mill, and despite approving on it, the interim government did not finance the project, and therefore the rescue solution was to get 48 thousand dollars from “the Assistance Coordination Unit” (ACU), and after forming a committee to buy the mill in an area near Talbisah, we were shocked to know that the price of the mill is 65 thousand dollars, and the electricity generator worth 9 thousand dollars , and therefore the whole matter of buying a mill has been suspended without reaching a definitive agreement until now.

Moreover, The two Sheikhs explained further the complications of the crisis, which was not limited to the mill and flour but exceeded that to difficulties in finding wheat, and the 150 tons of wheat which were brought to the town, were enough after grinding for only five days in "Talbiseh" and its suburbs, which in fact need between 17-20 tons of flour per baking, and if they want to include the rest of the besieged areas in Homs, the amount of wheat is not enough for one day, and Talbiseh is administratively followed by the towns and villages of Al Ghanto, Eastern an Western Farhania, al-Makramia, Al Saan, and al-Sabeel.

The bread crisis even included the necessary raw materials for making bread, especially water, fuel oil, yeast and even salt which has become so difficult to obtain, reaching 150 pounds for a kilo.

To make matters worse, the area has suffered from drought which affected the farming season with a decline of 80% than last year's season, and with 42 km length of war front with the regime, the people who work in farming had no access to 50% of their lands because it’s under regime’s fire.

With the scarcity of rainfall, the crisis has deepened more and led to the drought of 90% of wells which coincided with regime’s attempts, since the beginning of the revolution, to empty the water from the irrigation cannel, which has created a water crisis too!.

According to the two Sheikhs, people now buy drinking water from the tanks, at a price of 700 pounds (about 3.5 dollars) for a tank of 5 barrels of water, not enough for a middle-class family for more than one day.

Although there are pumps on the water network in (Saleco) line which goes to Hama, but lack of fuel prevents the whole operation and adds another problem to the area, which is obtaining fuel in a very dangerous adventure, when young men from the town risk their lives by carrying gallons of fuel on motorcycles from regime-held areas, yet they return with little quantities with high prices, ranging between 225-300 Syrian pounds, which also the case in regard to gasoline, while a gas cylinder exceeded five thousand SYP.

Acording to the chairman of bread committee in Talbiseh, Assad’s regime is trying to repeat the scenario of old Homs, offering people of the town compromises relating to the battle of Om Sharshoh, to send them bread and Red Crescent aid, which the last time it entered the town was 8 months ago, and back then only 3 thousand out of 20 thousand food basket were received by the families. Later the aid stopped completely when Air Force Intelligence ordered that, to sow the seeds of discord between the rebels and the people.

While the opposition, interim government and the coalition only respond with promises to address the issue with the international organizations, the Chairman warns: “if what happened in Homs is repeated in Talbisah , then it will be the opposition’s responsibility to bear”

In regard to the displaced families in the besieged neighborhoods of Homs, Sheikh Rajoub reveals that dozens of displaced families from Homs fled "Terre Maala" and went to Talbiseh after a weeding for the displaced families turned into a demonstration when someone was shot.

Abdul Ilah al-Fahd, a member in the local council in Homs reveals to Zaman Al Wasl that “the council has informed the interim government, at the highest levels, and made them aware of the bread and flour crisis in Talbiseh and other besieged areas in general, but “negligence” and “government’s indifference" have hindered any effort to prevent the famine that had befallen our families”.

According to al-Fahd, “the president of the coalition Hadi Bahra and Deputy Prime Minister Iyad Qudsi have interfered in this matter and tried to disburse an amount to buy flour, but their attempts hit a "wall of prejudice and manipulation by the government”.

After two months of delay, only130 thousand dollars has been allocated to this matter , an amount not enough for one town in the countryside of Homs, according to al-Fahad, who stressed that the monthly requirements exceed half a million dollars as stated in the draft presented by the local council to the Ministry of Finance and Economy in the interim government, in order to find a durable solution to the crisis of bread in the besieged areas of Homs, but the application of this project seems very difficult, at least now.

The council believes that its project is the most appropriate to make the families deeply rooted in the liberated areas and keep them away from regime’s settlements, which are paved by Assad starvation and blockade, and that the council can contribute in eliminating sedition and problems resulting from the famine, as stated in the text of its project.

The project covers the population of the besieged areas (about 400 thousand) in north and north-west of Homs and al-Waar, and because the project which costs more than $ 500 thousand, is a rescue solution, the time suggested to it is one month and can be renewed for another month, if the General Institution of Grain hasn’t completed its strategic stock, as it promised then to buy the wheat, grind and distribute it to the furnaces.

In this regard, Zaman al-Wasl has obtained documents related to the crisis of bread in Homs, including the correspondences of the local council to both the coalition and the interim government and correspondences between the people of Talbiseh and "Hula" and the north and west countryside in general, and the result are replies and promises that have done nothing until now to provide the slightest life necessitates for these people.

The correspondences show that the decision number 27/4 dated 6/8/2014 has been issued to allocate 100 thousand dollars to buy flour for the besieged areas as a rescue solution, but a plea letter from the Local Council of Homs to the President of the Coalition on 17/8/2014 reveals that the interim government decided not to give any amount for the northern and western Countryside of Homs or to al-Waar, pointing out that the amount of 100 thousand dollars was given to the local council to buy wheat and sell it to the people who do not have money to buy flour!

The Council asked the Coalition to clarify the possibility of mediation with the government to provide one million dollars, which is the need of the besieged areas.

Moreover, a pentagonal committee was formed in the interim government headed by the Minister of local Administration Osman Badawi , and concluded to 6 recommendations, first and foremost providing five thousand tons as a strategic stock for the northern countryside of Homs, the establishment of a mill in the region that belongs to the General Intuitions of Grains, and the formation of a specialized committee to communicate with different organizations to get the support of flour, but none of those proposals has been implemented so far!

In devastating crisis experienced by Talbiseh and other areas under siege in Homs, the coalition and the government are not the only responsible entities to address such humanitarian disasters of this magnitude, but the true blameworthy is the United Nations, which is now at stake after the decision issued by the Security Council which authorizes humanitarian aid to besieged areas in Syria, without the consent of Assad regime , and what has been delivered to Talbisah and other besieged areas in Homs according to this decision?