The reality of displacement and the humanitarian crisis caused by the Turkish attack on north-eastern Syria

A Syrian woman walks at the Washukanni camp, photo by Delil Souleiman, AFP

2:01 am 30/12/2019 No comments yet

The reality of displacement and the humanitarian crisis caused by the Turkish attack on north-eastern Syria

GAV – Hasakeh

The north-eastern Syrian region has experienced a major humanitarian crisis as a result of the mass displacement of people from the border strip, following the Turkish military operation that began on 9 October 2019 in areas between the border towns of Ras al-Ain/Sri Kanieh and Tal-Abiyad, causing the displacement of more than 300,000 displaced people, including 90,000 children, according to local authorities.

Targeted areas and destination of the displaced people

The Turkish military offensive, supported by Syrian armed factions affiliated with Ankara, included various areas of the border, including districts and towns in Al-Jazeera region (Ras al-Ain/Sri Kanieh and its countryside, Tel Tamer and its countryside, Zarkan, Manajir, Abu Raseen and Mabrouka), as well as districts and towns in the northern countryside of Raqqa such as (Tel Abyad, Ain Issa and their countryside), with a population of about 300,000 according to local authorities.

Areas far from the border have been a major destination for displaced people fleeing Turkish air and artillery shelling and Ankara’s armed factions, such as Hasaka, Tal Tamer and some other cities near the Iraqi-Syrian border, such as Maliki/Derek, Rumilan, Karki laKi/Mabadah , but intensified fighting by the Turkish army on the town of Tel Tamer has caused a second wave of displacement towards the city of Hasakeh this time, due to civilian fears that Turkish forces and armed factions backed by Ankara could reach the town. The exodus from the northern countryside of Raqqa focused on the cities of Raqqa, Al-Tabqa and Kobani, as well as various rural areas in al-Jazira and Raqqa governorate.

Shelters and displacement camps

Since the start of the conflict in Syria in 2011, northeastern Syria has been a destination for large numbers of Displaced Syrians fleeing military operations from various regions, and after liberating the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor from ISIS control, thousands of family members of the fighters groups were transferred to al-Hol camp east of Hasaka, which was one of eight camps scattered in north-eastern Syria before the start of the Turkish offensive that forced local authorities to build two additional camps for displaced people fleeing the border areas, the “Washo Kani” camp near the town of Al-Tawinah, 10 km east of Hasaka , and the camp of the town of Tal al-Samen. In the northern countryside of Raqqa.

The 10 camps in northeastern Syria host more than 28,000 families, that constitute (115) thousand people , including 800 families living in Washo Kani camp, which constitutes 4,650 people till December 27, 2019, while Tel Al-Saman Camp is home to 98 families, which constitutes 380 people, while local authorities say the camp’s capacity will reach 1,000 tents.

The accommodation of displaced persons is not limited to camps run by local authorities in cooperation with local organizations, as 148 schools have been converted into shelters throughout Al-Jazeera region, including 67 schools in Hasakeh alone, causing an additional crisis that thousands of students were unable to access educational services.

In addition, tens of thousands of displaced people are housed in rented homes in various cities in Al-Jazeera region, particularly Qamishli and Hasaka.

Residents of the two new camps (Washo Kani, Tel Al-Samen) face a severe shortage of basic services such as (medical and health points, educational points to integrate affected students residing in the camps, sanitation and toilets, mud accumulation, difficulty moving in the camp, heating problems, etc.), This is in the light of the limited capacity available to both local authorities and local organizations, despite efforts to provide these services, despite the continued disregard by international organizations, led by United Nations agencies and bodies.

It is worth mentioning that the total number of residents in the camps (Washo Kani and Tal Al-Samen) and various shelters throughout Al-Jazeera region does not exceed (30) thousand people out of a total of 300,000 people are the total number of displaced persons fleeing the Turkish attack, most of whom live either in rented homes or with relatives and acquaintances in other cities.

Displaced persons outside camps and shelters

Displaced persons living with relatives or acquaintances make up the vast majority of the total number of people fleeing the Turkish military offensive, as they do not wish to move to camps and shelters because the camps lack the minimum conditions for residence, such as the level of medical, health and education services. Hygiene, sanitation and others, especially after the onset of winter, which is experiencing a significant drop in temperatures, not to mention the onset of the rainy season, raises fears among displaced people of epidemics among children, the elderly and patients in need of constant care.

The frequent waves of displacement that people in north-eastern Syria are experiencing have reduced their resilience to the difficulties they face, due to the loss of their property and livelihoods in their areas of origin and their movement to other environments that are mainly suffering from a significant lack of civilian infrastructure capable of accommodating the large numbers of displaced persons.

The crisis is not limited to displaced persons, but also extends to the host community in cities that are a major destination for displacement, especially since most of the displaced live with their relatives or acquaintances, which poses an additional financial burden to host families, which poses an additional challenge in providing Large-scale livelihood opportunities and programs to enable displaced people to access new sources of income instead of those lost after the Turkish military offensive and the seizure of their property and expelling them from their homes by armed factions.

Tens of thousands of affected student

Perhaps one of the most important repercussions of the Turkish military action is the damage to the educational process and the departure of its facilities with the denial of access to educational services by tens of thousands of students, which reflects negatively on the educational reality and leads to the emergence of a large gap in this process as a result of students were unable to complete their education, especially with the lack of capacity of local authorities to provide an appropriate emergency response as international organizations and institutions ignore their role in this area, such as providing the needs of displaced students to integrate them into the educational process as soon as possible.

According to statistics and documented information, the Turkish military offensive caused the departure of more than 200 schools from service in areas entered by the Turkish army and Ankara-backed factional militants, not to mention the transformation of 148 schools into shelters in the rest of the cities, bringing the number of students currently deprived of education throughout the region of Al Jazeera (north-eastern Syria) to about (86) thousand students from different levels of study.

Local authorities (the education Authority) is trying to increase the opening hours of available schools and add an evening period to receive as many affected students as possible, both displaced persons and residents of host cities and towns.

The United Nations and international organizations ignore the humanitarian disaster

The disregard of international humanitarian organizations, led by UN agencies and bodies, and the failure to provide assistance and provide an emergency response to the needs of hundreds of thousands of people affected by the Turkish military offensive, has exacerbated the humanitarian situation in an unprecedented manner. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned that the population is unable to cope with shocks on more than one level, including psychological trauma

More than three months after the Turkish military offensive, UNHCR continues to refrain from playing its humanitarian role in managing the affairs of displaced persons living in the Camps (Washo Kani and Tal Al-Samen) and tens of thousands of residents in shelters and towns in the region Al-Jazeera (north-eastern Syria) despite continued appeals by local organizations that bear the brunt of this major crisis amid a lack of resources and lack of support from the United Nations or even other international donor organizations.

In a related context, the decision of international organizations operating in the areas of north-eastern Syria to withdraw their staff days after the onset of the Turkish military offensive due to security considerations, caused the immediate and unexpected suspension of their activities, before some of those organizations resumed their activities in the region but partly after a long absence for weeks.

This lack of role of international humanitarian organizations, particularly United Nations bodies and agencies, has burdened local civil society organizations, which rely mainly in the context of their humanitarian and other activities on grants through their international counterparts, causing a major crisis in providing the emergency humanitarian response appropriate to the scale of the crisis. Most local civil society organizations and institutions have been forced to rely on their limited means and the contributions of the local population to provide a small portion of the needs of the displaced, while the state of disregard by international organizations continues to this day, with no justification for such disregard.

Finally, GAV demands international humanitarian organizations and UN agencies the following:

Keeping the humanitarian action aside from the political tensions and adopt humanitarian criteria as a principle to provide the response appropriate to the scale of the crisis in NES.
Activating emergency humanitarian response programs targeting displaced persons fleeing the Turkish military offensiv
Support local humanitarian institutions to provide rapid and effective access to those affected, both in camps or shelters or outside.
Support infrastructure rehabilitation programs in Washo Kani and Tal Al-Samen camps, such as medical, educational, sanitation and other points.
To ensure the safe return of residents wishing to return to their areas in Ras al-Ain/Sri Kani and Tal Abiyad, which are under the control of the Turkish army and its factions and under the supervision of the United Nations, while ensuring their safety.
Highlighting the reality of the areas under the control of the Turkish army and its supported factions in Sri Kanih/Ras al-Ain and Tal Abyad, and the violations documented by international and local human rights organizations.