Syria, the heat wave asphyxiates the inhabitants of refugee camps: “It’s like living in an oven”

IDLIB (Syria) – In an extensive report by Ali Haj Suleiman and Husam Hezaber for Al Jazeera, living conditions are described in over 800 refugee camps in North-West Syria, where a chronic water shortage persists, due to the decrease in water support from donor organizations and the increase in water consumption caused by rising temperatures. To represent this tragic picture of the situation is a report by Syria Response Coordination Groupa local humanitarian organization.

You can’t breathe under the tent. Hamida Dandoush – reads the report Al Jazeera – “he sprays water on his tent in an attempt to cool it down, hoping to ease the high temperatures for himself and his family. The woman is 62 years old and comes from the city of Maardabsah. He resides in the Saharah camp, near the Syrian-Turkish border, where about 80 displaced families are enduring harsh living conditions due to the intense heat wave hitting the region. We live as if we were inside an oven – says Hamida – struggling to breathe due to the heat inside the tent. If it hadn’t been for the water we sprayed on the tent, we would have died from the intense heat.”

And the heat will increase. The oppressive temperatures that already suffocate the displaced camps in the Syrian North-West, should also intensify in the coming days to reach 42°, according to forecasts, aggravating the crowded people who live in tents, with no possibility of refreshment, moreover made with a nylon fabric that amplifies the heat.

Even a wave of fires. “The heat wave – told reporters of Al Jazeera Ahmad Yazji, board member of the Syria Civil Defense – coincided with an increase in the number of fires in the current month. More than 200 fires have been extinguished since the beginning of this month, including 93 farmland fires, 21 forest fires, 36 residential fires and 10 refugee camp fires.”