By Faris Al Rifai; Translation by Yusra Ahmed
(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syria’s al-Salamah refugee camp on the Turkish border with almost 4000 people has set the alarm bells ringing as heavy rain stormed their fragile makeshift shelters.
People there live under inhuman condition exacerbated by the winter which led to death of a child and destroying more than 500 tents where whole families live.
Mohammed al-Naeemi, the Head of Syrian Association for Human rights has forwarded an invitation via his Facebook account to the head and members of the National Coalitions to go to the camp and spend only one night there with their families, to feel the real conditions people live in. He suggested that people have the right to bring anyone refused the invitation to trial. “I will be the first one to put myself under trial because I hold as much responsibility”, told Zaman al-Wasl.
Al-Naeemi confirmed that invitation was serious, as he hoped that spending only one night like displaced people could awaken people’s conscience.
He added that emergency status was announced in the camp after the death of a child and soaking of almost 500 tents.
He explained that the Association did not provid any relief to displaced people in general, and in al-Salamah camp in particular, as it is a legal body concerns in refugees and displaced people’s rights and legal issue all around the world. “We try to highlight the suffering of refugees and the displaced to human right organization all over the world, besides trying to generate sources of relief by communication with Aid and relief organizations.”
In regard to the delay in dealing with the hard living conditions of people in refugees’ camps, he explained that they started soon in preparing and securing good conditions for people before winter, but many logistic and official problems faced their efforts and held them back. “We have had many meetings with opposition’s figures and with the Head of the Coalition in person, but all we got were promises, besides showing a tendency to avoid dealing with the refugees’ and the displaced's matters.
In regard to Aid and relief situation in Syria, the Head of Human Right association detailed that the Interim Government has two directorates: the Directorate of Palestinian Refugees Affairs, and Directorate of Camps’ management, both are not able to cover the needs of refugees and the displaced. “Despite all that I met with the Minister of Local Administration, but I could not see any seriousness in dealing with the matter.”
Al-Naeemi added that in addition to the humanitarian disaster in al-Salamah camp, there are more than a million refugees and displaced people, where no one can even imagine the quality of life they live, as a family of six has only four blankets, live in worn out tents in a temperature as low as zero, and even some women give birth there.”
“Those people do not have the minimum requirement of even survive.”
Finally, al-Naeemi explained his point of view about the situation and possible solution: “the real solution starts when the opposition’s organizations do their jobs in a planned and professional manner, away from compliments and mutual benefits in employing workers, they have to cooperate with us to help people and to bring their tragedy to light to be internationally seen and taken into account.”
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