13 years on: How displaced Syrians have struggled to survive yet another winter in crisis

Life in a camp, unthinkable ordeal

Living in camps and settlements has its own share of burdens, with limited resources and support systems. The hardships of people exacerbate especially during the harsh winter season. From November to March, the temperature can plunge as low as 0°C (32F) leaving these individuals highly vulnerable.

“As the winter sets in each year, we brace ourselves worrying about the lack of means for heating, muddy roads, and the anticipated flooding of the tents when it rains or snows,” says Ismail. “To run the heater, I gather small pieces of scrap car tires since fuel is not always available or affordable.”

Walaa*, displaced more than eight times

One of Ismail’s neighbors in the camp, Walaa, has been displaced more than eight times. As luck would have it, both Walaa and Ismail lived in the same area before the conflict erupted.

Walaa resides in the camp with her two children. Tragically, her husband lost his life as they fled from one place to another.

“Some of us do have heaters that often serve as a savior. But sometimes I find nothing to light my heater except for some small sticks or old, worn-out shoes. When I’m not lucky enough, I only have blankets to wrap around my children in shivering cold,” Walaa says.

Many families resort to burning unsafe materials, such as plastic and nylon, to keep themselves warm during the cold winter months since fuel is often a difficult commodity to obtain.

However, to help people like Ismail and Walaa in winter, CARE and its partner organization Violet provide various forms of assistance, including multipurpose cash assistance, protective tarpaulin sheets and winter clothes or blankets. Multipurpose cash assistance enables people to secure their most basic needs in camps and informal settlements.

Internally displaced in northeast Syria

The situation for those forced to flee their homes in northeast Syria is no different, particularly around winter.

“The biggest struggle is finding warmth. We don’t have mattresses in the tent, no covers or heavy blankets and the living situation is extremely challenging,” says Fatima*, a resident of an informal settlement hosting IDPs in Raqqa, northeast Syria. “In winter, we must reduce our food intake and often eat only once a day. We do this to be able to sell the food baskets we receive and buy warm clothes for our children. Unfortunately, there is hardly any income opportunities during winter, unlike the summer harvest season when we can secure some earnings.”

“The winter in northeast Syria is exceptionally cold, with temperatures reaching 0°C (32F). It’s a time of extreme hardship and insecurity for many of the internally displaced people living in camps and informal settlements. More than 60 percent of the population of CARE’s target locations in northeast Syria are in specific need of winter assistance, with no prospect of receiving support without our interventions, this number represents an increase of 10 percent from 2022,” Jolien Veldwijk, CARE Syria’s Country Director says.

In northeast Syria, CARE and its partners have reached more than 9 million people since the beginning of the crisis with emergency assistance such as water, sanitation and hygiene, and protection services as well as longer-term support for livelihoods, building resilience and early recovery efforts.

More funding required

CARE and its partners began responding to the needs of displaced Syrians in 2013 focusing on protection, particularly of women and girls, people’s basic needs including food, water and sanitation, and health services and economic empowerment, with a special focus on women and girls. However, considering the ever-growing needs, the ongoing assistance in northern Syria, including cash support, is grossly inadequate.

“This year’s winterization campaign is currently funded at only 47 percent, meaning that we must prioritize offering the absolute minimum, like distributing plastic tarpaulin sheets and winter clothes to help people survive the winter,” Jolien Veldwijk concludes.

* Names changed