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Refugees displaced during the Turkish military assault on the city of Afrin in northern Syria in 2018 are still living in tents in camps and struggling to survive under difficult conditions.
According to the United Nations, a great majority of the people living in the region, over 180,000 civilians, have been forced to leave their homes.
The embargo imposed by the Syrian government on the region makes the situation still worse.
Speaking to JinNews, one of the women refugees at the Serdem Refugee Camp in Shahba, Northern Syria, stated that they are determined to endure the difficult conditions and the embargo so that they can eventually return to their homes.
”Our tents are made of nylon. It’s hot in summer and cold in winter,” said Nilfet Mihemed. ”The Syrian regime has also imposed an embargo on Shahba. That needs to be lifted. As the Syrian regime does not allow anything through, things we need on a daily basis are very expensive. We try to endure and to withstand all the difficulties and the embargo here in the camp. But we will face all our difficulties and we will return to Afrin.”
Fatma Bekir Xulo, another refugee at the camp, said they had been there for four years. She made a call on international women’s institutions and human rights organisations to defend their rights. “I want them to see the conidtions we have to live under here,” she said.
Another woman, Mewlîde, said that their expectation was to return to Afrin.
”We left Afrin and came to Shahba,’ she said. “We have been here for four years and the weather conditions are very tough. Children are getting sick. Medical treatment is very limited. However, despite all the difficulties, we hope to return to Afrin.”
