TRÓCAIRE

TRÓCAIRE SUPPORTING SYRIAN REFUGEES IN LEBANON

THE SYRIAN REFUGEE POPULATION IN LEBANON IS FACING INTO ANOTHER HARSH WINTER AND NEEDS SUPPORT MORE THAN EVER

BY CATHERINE DEVINE

When war broke out in Syria in 2011, Hiba Almhammad was suddenly left widowed with a six-month old infant after her husband was killed in the conflict. Like many others, she expected the war to last a few months, and to be safe she relocated temporarily from Damascus to Lebanon with her son and elderly parents.

But more than ten years later, Hiba finds herself still in Lebanon, away from her homeland, along with millions of other Syrians who are struggling to survive and yearning to rebuild their lives. She dreams her now 11-year-old son will be able to stay in school and make a better life for himself in Lebanon.

Lebanon today hosts 1.5 million of the 6.6 million Syrians who have fled the conflict since 2011. The Syrian refugee population in Lebanon remains one of the largest concentrations of refugees per capita in the world. In total more than half the Syrian population of over 22 million have been forced to flee their homes, and over half of these are in need of humanitarian assistance. Through the conflict more than 500,000 people have been killed. Almost five million children have been born in Syria in the last decade knowing only war. Some 73 per cent of Syrian refugees in Lebanon live below the poverty line.

Adding to this humanitarian crisis, Lebanon is facing overlapping crises on the political, economic, and social fronts, all compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. The capital Beirut is also still recovering from the effects

Hiba Almhammad is a humanitarian support officer with Trócaire partner, SAWA for Development and Aid in Lebanon. Photo: Hazar Al Zahr

of the devastating blast in the port of Beirut in August 2020.

Trócaire has been responding to the Syria crisis since the conflict began. It provides humanitarian aid in Syria and also to Syrian refugees living in Lebanon, providing food, shelter, and basic household items. Trócaire works in more than 20 camps in the Bar Elias and Saadnayel area of Lebanon. In 2022, Trócaire is providing Community Resilience and Preparedness training, Emergency Cash Assistance and Cash for Protection as well as Psychological Support Services and Digital Literacy for Youth in refugee camps.

Trauma from the conflict is also a huge issue and Trócaire provides counselling and psychosocial support to affected families and helps people with life skills and vocational training.

HARSH WINTER

Hiba is seeing the suffering of people at first hand. In 2018 she started working with a Lebanese charity SAWA, a partner of Trócaire.

She says: “The situation for Syrian refugees in camps in Lebanon remains especially dire. Last year, temperatures in the camp dropped to –4C and I saw the devastating impact of this on families.

“In one camp, a two-month-old baby girl died from the cold; in another, a young girl was seriously injured when the water tank in her tent collapsed. Many Syrian refugees live in tarpaulin makeshift tents and are facing another harsh winter without fuel or warm clothes.

“As a Syrian refugee, it is very hard to watch my community suffer.”

Lebanon has also been hit by the conflict in Ukraine with the availability and costs of food and fuel being impacted. Syrian refugees are unable to afford bread, and many are left begging outside bakeries for scraps, or forced to go hungry. As the cost of living soars, families are no longer able to send their children to school – often the only source of hope for young families.

With the generous support of the Irish

Heavy snow in the refugee camp in Lebanon. Photo: SAWA

people through Irish Aid and Trócaire, SAWA supported 13,000 people in Lebanon in 2021, of which 8,000 were Syrian refugees.

Hiba said: “We provide humanitarian support to Syrian refugees in camps from food to medical treatment as well as psychological support for families who have experienced trauma. We also work with Syrian women to empower them to become leaders in their communities. We train and work with these community leaders to gain the skills needed to speak publicly and represent their community. A lot of these women in the camps have gone through traumatic experiences fleeing the war. This is why it is important to also provide psychological support.

“Once I started working with Trócaire/ SAWA and saw the impact on the ground, I couldn’t stop. In spite of everything that is going on, we are able to support families. It makes it very special that as a Syrian refugee, I am able to support other Syrians. We are all from the same community, we have the same challenges. When you know you are helping families who are really in need, it makes me very happy, because I know firsthand how valuable this support is.”

SUPPORT

Hiba says: People think that the Syria conflict has gone away because they don’t hear any more about huge violence and bombings of cities. But while it might not be on your screens in Ireland, it is still far from safe. People cannot return home to Syria where there are no hospitals, schools – where your sons might be forced to fight with the military, against their will, to fight their own people.

“This is why it is so important not to forget us. The community in Ireland have shown a huge generosity towards Syrians and towards refugees. We are very, very grateful for what the people in Ireland have done for us and the support we have received through Trócaire.”

Samah Ghamrawi, Trócaire’s project manager in Beirut, said that families in Lebanon need Trócaire’s support more than ever.

“Last winter was the worst winter we’ve ever seen in Lebanon and we saw the impact of this in the camps. Children are wearing clothes that are too small for them and aren’t protecting them from the cold. Families can’t get wood or fuel to keep them warm. They have no bread to eat. Trócaire and SAWA are on the ground doing everything we can to support them, but we need your help. Please continue to support us in any way you can. Your donations provide families with a little hope that they can make it through the winter,” Samah said.

A damaged tent in the refugee camp in Lebanon during storms earlier this year. Photo: SAWA

FIND OUT MORE

To find out more about Trócaire’s work visit www.trocaire.org