📰 Sere Kaniye IDPs in NE Syria face another winter in torn tents

HASAKAH, syria (North Press) – As winter approaches, thousands of relocated people from Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) living in Washokani Camp, west of Hasakah in northeastern Syria brace for another season of hardship under torn and deteriorating tents that have sheltered them for seven years.   The camp, established by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) in late 2019 following Turkey’s “Operation Peace Spring,” now hosts around 17,000 people across approximately 2,400 families. Despite its recognition by the UNHCR in 2023, living conditions remain dire, with little improvement since the camp’s establishment. “A tragedy in both winter and summer” Residents describe life in the camp as a daily struggle against heat, cold, and neglect. Sharif Saleh, relocated from the village of al-Manajir in Sere Kaniye countryside, informed North Press that the entire camp has been calling for the replacement of tents. “We were displaced in 2018 and have been living in tents ever since.

This is our seventh year now. They have not replaced these tents — they are completely worn out. Moreover, it is a tragedy in both winter and summer.

In summer, it is unbearably hot; in winter, it is freezing cold. ” Saleh added that replacing the tents or improving them has become an urgent necessity, particularly for significant families like his, which includes 13 members. Melka Mahmoud, a woman in her fifties battling cancer, described the harsh winter conditions, stated, “In winter, the circumstances becomes unbearable. There is mud and rain everywhere. ” “Sometimes, while we are asleep, rainwater starts flooding the tent.

We wake up in the middle of the night to move our bedding and sleeping mats because everything gets soaked,” she added. “We ask for nothing else,” she noted. Notably, “But if returning is still not possible, we urge that the tents be replaced immediately and our living conditions improved. ” Calls for return or urgent aid Youssef Dawoud, co-chair of Washokani Camp’s administration, stated the camp currently contains around 2,430 tents housing more than 17,000 people. “Tents should be replaced every year but this is the sixth year and none have been renewed,” he informed North Press. “We have contacted all concerned organizations but none have committed to providing emerging tents,” he said. “We have spoken with UNHCR, ACTED, and UNICEF yet there has been no response regarding the replacements. ” He warned that the failure to replace the tents before winter would lead to a…