In a new scene displaying the suffering of displaced people in southern Syria, hundreds of families gathered in random camps in the plains surrounding the city of Daraa having fled regime shelling on the opposition-controlled areas of the city.
With the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan last week, fasting became harder for the displaced people in the intense heat, but displaced residents insist on performing what they see as their most significant religious rite.
Um Ahmed pointed out that the displaced people in the region of ash-Shaiah suffer from a lack of support from local relief bodies and organizations, even though they promised to secure all the essentials, like drinking water and food, in addition to the establishment of a medical point to provide first aid.
Um Ahmed, who lost her husband and her son, cares for her daughters and four children who live in a small tent, often travelling long distances to collect firewood to use for cooking.
Member of the relief body of the city of Daraa, Mohammed Aba Zaid, admitted the a lack of support from the local bodies in providing relief to displaced Syrians, especially for those displaced at the beginning of Ramadan.
In addition to the shelling by regime forces, Aba Zaid also attributed the problem to the displaced people for gathering in the one place, making it very difficult to deliver food and tanks of drinking water to them. Another reason, Aba Zaid says, is the powerlessness of the relief bodies to fulfill the needs of displaced people due to a lack of support after Jordan closed its borders to foreign NGOs.
Regime forces have recently stepped up the bombardment of opposition-held neighborhoods in the city of Daraa, especially after reports surfaced on a planned opposition military offensive to take control of the entire city following recent progress by opposition factions in the countryside of the southern province.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
