Thursday, June 20, 2013

Syria’s internally displaced – ‘The world has forgotten us’

Amnesty International

"On a recent visit to a camp near Atmeh, just inside Syria near the Turkish border, some 21,000 people were sheltering amid hellish conditions.

Heavy rain leaked into the tents and had turned the clay soil into thick slippery mud, raw sewage flowed between the tents. The food being distributed was insufficient and of very poor quality and large numbers of people complained of medical conditions for which they were receiving no treatment.

“When we got here we found that it was impossible to cross into Turkey because the border is closed. So we’ve been stuck here all winter with nothing. There is little food, we don’t even have clothes and blankets to keep warm, we can’t keep the rain out, and everything is wet. The children get sick all the time. The world has forgotten us. What will become of us?” Umm Husam, a mother of five young children sheltering in Atmeh told Amnesty International in March.

Her family’s story is indicative of the dire situation facing many of the close to 6 million people who have been displaced by the conflict in Syria – while death and destruction continue on a daily basis......"

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