Winter's Tragic Effects on Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

 

Safe from the violence in Syria, Hussein Hassan now fears his children face another threat – the icy water that floods their shelter in Lebanon.

Hassan and his 11-member family fled conflict near their village near Deir ez-Zour two months ago. They are now among the refugees² who have to deal with Lebanon’s winter weather in tents.

“We are afraid of the cold weather and afraid our children will get sick,” he said. “Our lives are as nothing. We have nothing but fear. Fear from illness, from the rain, and there is nothing to keep warm with.”

Of one million refugees registered in Lebanon, an estimated 250,000 Syrians live in tent camps across the country.

Many, like Hassan, live in the Bekka Valley, where winter temperatures sometimes drop below freezing.

A storm last week showed how helpless the refugees are when faced with freezing conditions. The amount of money available to help them is shrinking.

Bitter memories

Rains beat against the temporary home of Hassan and his family. Some of the rainwater passed through holes in the cloth, while other water landed outside, but then spread along the ground and into the tent.

“The wood broke and we were flooded. We had to go to our neighbors,” said Hassan as he described the collapse³ of the tent’s roof.

In front of him, some clothing and bedding were completely wet.

Following months of relatively⁴ mild weather, the storm showed just how cold winter can be in Lebanon’s central valley.

Some Syrians are spending their seventh year in camps like this one.

Shrinking savings⁵

Outside Hassan’s home, children ran through muddy, flooded passages on a cold day.

Nearby, Zahra Hamad, mother of 10 children, wondered how much longer she could keep their tent warm. Her family sleeps in the only room that doesn’t leak. They keep warm with a diesel⁶-fueled heater in the center of the room.

The family has used the heater every winter for the past four years. It costs 7 dollars a day to operate – an amount she does not always have.

Over time, her savings have shrunk to nothing, and it is difficult to find work at this time of the year. Jobs for refugees are seasonal⁷ and difficult to find.

“Sometimes it is better outside than inside, things get so bad,” Zahra Hamad said. “There used to be aid…but now there is no wood…nothing,” she said.

Problems

The non-governmental organizations and agencies that help refugees are also facing problems. As the Syrian conflict continues, it is difficult for them to get the money they need.

The Lebanese government refuses to make the refugee¹ camps official. It is afraid that letting Syrians become members of Lebanese society could change Lebanon’s political and social balance. So these camps continue to be built without government oversight⁸.

The United Nations refugee agency has received just $143 million of a requested $228 million for its winter program. UN spokesman⁹ Scott Craig says the agency faced very difficult problems because it had to choose who should get the aid and who would not.

Craig told VOA there is little difference between a family whose problems are serious and a family whose problems are severe.

Tragic¹⁰ results

It is not just in the camps that winter has affected¹¹ the refugees. On January 19th, a group of 30 to 35 Syrians were trying to cross Lebanon’s closely guarded border when a snow storm hit. Sixteen of the Syrians died.

In a room on the second floor of Bekka Hospital, Mishaan al Abed looks at the images on his phone. He saw a picture of his six-year old daughter, Hiba. She was wearing a white coat and looking up at the camera.

The next image showed several bodies lying in the snow after the storm. He found it on social media while waiting for information about his family as they tried to cross the border. Six members of his family including his wife, his mother and little Hiba were among the dead.

His other daughter, three-year-old Sarah, survived. She lay on a hospital bed, her face marked with frostbite scars¹².

Abed says he was frightened when he heard his family planned to try to cross the border, but “they had to do it,” he said. He was already living in Lebanon at the time, and waiting for his family to arrive to start a new life.

“If we could move somewhere where there isn’t any wars maybe she will forget,” he said, “but she has lost her mother…God help them.”

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

tent – n. a temporary shelter that is made of strong cloth (such as canvas¹³ or nylon) and used outdoors

illness – n. sickness or disease

roof – n. a top or covering

muddy – adj. relating to or involving soft, wet dirt

diesel - n. a kind of fuel

oversight – n. supervision; the act or job of directing work that is being done

1 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

2 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

3 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

6 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

7 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

8 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

9 spokesman   

n.发言人，代言人

参考例句：

• The government spokesman gave a quick briefing to the reporters.政府发言人向记者们作了情况简介。
• They drew lots to decide who should be their spokesman.他们抽签决定谁是他们的发言人。

10 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

12 scars   

n.伤痕( scar的名词复数 )；精神上的创伤；有损外观的地方；裸岩

参考例句：

• Slowly the war scars faded. 战争的创伤慢慢地消失了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• I've got scars from head to toe in tribute to my courage. 为了嘉奖我的胆量，我得到浑身的伤疤。 来自辞典例句

13 canvas   

n.粗帆布，一块油画布

参考例句：

• The times that people used canvas boat have become history.人们用帆船的时代已成为历史。
• Smith painted an oil painting on the canvas.史密斯在画布上画了一幅油画。