Hamad al-Abdallah has installed Wi-Fi and insulation in his new concrete room, trying to make the most of the desperate conditions his family has endured since fleeing Syrian regime bombardments.
They were among the lucky ones to move into new, 24m2 concrete homes provided by a Turkish charity last month after almost a year living in a tent in huge, squalid camps along Syria’s northern border with Turkey.
Al-Abdallah fled with his wife and four children when the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, began their assault on the last rebel holdout of Idlib Governorate.
Photo: AFP
“It’s big enough and we feel comfortable,” he said, welcoming reporters into his humble two-bedroom house. “If one day we can go home, we will, but so long as the Syrian army does not pull back, we can’t, because most of us are wanted by the regime.”
“With young children, we can’t try to get into Turkey either, so we will stay here,” he added.
Turkey, which already hosts more than 3.6 million Syrians, has refused to let any more enter, but its non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are busy building an enormous stretch of new housing inside Syrian territory to deal with the latest wave of displacement — now numbering close to 1 million people in Idlib.
Despite a ceasefire agreed on Friday last week between Turkey and Russia, few believe the Syrian regime will back off its plans to eventually retake the region, leaving few options for the displaced.
The camps stretch out as far as the eye can see — thousands upon thousands of tents on either side of the road linking Turkey to the city of Idlib, but now with a smattering of new concrete block houses built by Turkish NGOs.
Along the dirt tracks of the camp in the area of Kafr Lusin, children play while groups of women chat around washing lines, and a flock of sheep nose about the garbage piles. Many tents have their own solar panels to charge batteries and provide light.
Some occupants have managed to make a small living here — there is a hairdresser, grocery and even a dress shop — while some blocks serve as makeshift classrooms.
There are public toilets, although the smell from open sewers remains overpowering.
Ankara encouraged the construction of more permanent structures as a way to stop refugees from trying to breach the border.
IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, the main Turkish NGO in the area, said that the new concrete homes are reserved for families of six or more who earn less than US$150.
The charity aims to build 15,000 homes and has completed 1,000, spokesman Selim Tosun said.
“People are exhausted from life in the tents. These new houses can at least protect them from the winter cold and the summer heat,” he said, adding that 100,000 would eventually be needed to completely replace the tents.
Each new home costs US$360 to build, Tosun said, with the money provided entirely by private donors in Turkey.
With nowhere to run, they at least offer displaced families hope of a modest improvement in daily life after months and years of horror.
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