Ten years on from the start of the crisis in Syria, Islamic Relief has been helping thousands of families uprooted from their homes to earn a living once more.

Abu Ziyad lost his son when his village was bombed and now cares for his orphaned grandchildren alone. Since fleeing their home, the family have fled again and again as community after community came under attack.

It has been particularly distressing for Abu Ziyad’s grandchildren, who have witnessed so many horrors.

Before the bombing, the grandfather was a sheep farmer, but he lost his herd during the airstrikes, and with it, his livelihood. Islamic Relief provided the grandfather with pregnant ewes to raise to produce milk to be sold at market. He now provides expert care for the sheep.

Caring for sheep

“We wake up early every morning to feed the sheep. We then milk them and take them out of the barn before cleaning them. We give them food at noon, and in the evenings we check them for signs of infection or illness.”

Soon after they arrived, the sheep gave birth. Abu Ziyad worked hard to milk the ewes, which meant he could produce cheese and milk to be sold for a profit. This gives him enough income to buy food to support his young family. In addition to this, the sheep provide enough milk for Abu Ziyad and his family to enjoy fresh and nutritious dairy products every day.

Becoming self-reliant once more

“When we first arrived, we had to rely on the food that other people gave us. We used to drink milk once a week, but now, thanks to God Almighty, we can make our own milk and cheese and buy other food, such as bread and vegetables. Thanks to this project, my grandchildren now drink milk every morning,” Abu Ziyad tells us.

The project has boosted the income of almost 2,000 families in northern Syria. They have received l livestock, fodder, vaccines, wheat seeds, and fertiliser to get them started. Islamic Relief also formed local committees, providing them farming training and advice on the local market to empower people to sell their produce for a profit. In addition our veterinary specialists and agricultural engineers provided practical advice.

It has had a particularly strong impact by easing the hardship of families facing the coronavirus pandemic, which has put immense strain on livelihoods. Throughout the region, breadwinners are forced to choose whether to go out to work and risk exposure to the virus, or stay at home and their children go hungry.

Families, particularly those with widows and orphans, now have the opportunity to earn an income from work that can be carried out alone, or with easily manageable social distancing.

Your support will mean the world to families like Abu Ziyad’s. It will enable us to continue to support families to build a reliable source of income upon which they can depend. As Abu Ziyad puts it, “We hope you will continue this project as it has had such a positive impact on the poor families who have suffered through this crisis.”

Read more in our report. Help us continue to be a lifeline for those still suffering: please donate to our Syria appeal.

Umm Ibrahim is a widowed woman raising her children in one of hundreds of camps scattered across northern Syria. Umm Ibrahim’s 3 children each have mental health issues.

“My daughter Jamila experiences periods of mania, which affects her sleep and causes her to cry out. My daughter Wafa struggles with obsessive behaviour, and my son, Hassan, also struggles with mental illness. They all need special care and I long for them to find treatment.”

The family have fled repeatedly in search of safety

The family have been displaced multiple times due to repeated airstrikes. They left their home behind when their village was bombed and in the years since have fled repeatedly, desperately searching for a safe place.

“Five years ago, our village, in Jisr Al-Shughour, was bombed and my children and I had to flee for our lives. During the bombing, our home was completely demolished and nothing was left standing. We lost everything.”

Umm Ibrahim’s son was badly hurt during the airstrikes. He had fled from the house but sustained shrapnel injuries to his stomach. He was taken to hospital but nobody notified his mother, who spent 10 desperate days searching for her son.

“I was in a state of panic and searched for him everywhere. I spoke to some hospitals but they could not locate him either. For 10 days, I cried and prayed, asking God to return him safely to me and to make him well again. Thankfully, God returned my son. I cried as I hugged him.”

Unimagainable horrors and tragedies

The family home was destroyed by the bombs and Umm Ibrahim and her children have since been displaced several times, living in various villages and camps. The mother-of-3 finds it difficult to describe the feeling of constantly being uprooted and moving to the next place.

“We have faced many tragedies since the crisis began, and we are still suffering now. We cannot even meet our most basic needs in this camp.”

Poverty and trauma

The family shelter in a tent and rely upon humanitarian aid for survival. They do not have enough money for food and rarely eat meat. They live in fear due to the terrifying memories they have of the airstrikes that drove them from their home.

“We have had nights where we have gone to sleep on an empty stomach due to the lack of food. Our situation feels very unstable because we do not know what life might throw at us next.

“We live in fear because of what we experienced in our home village. When we hear the sound of aircraft, we feel so afraid. I take my children from the tent and run to the neighbouring farmland because I am so frightened.”

Hopes for a better future

Alone with her children, Umm Ibrahim often reflects on her homelife and her friends and family.

“We all wish to return home to our country and be reunited with our loved ones and neighbours. We were very close and used to visit each other often. My sister lived nearby and we used to enjoy meeting to eat delicious meals together. I would like to rebuild my house so that my children and I can live there once again.

“It has been five years since we fled and I pray that this crisis will end soon so that we can return to our lives. We have suffered from every kind of injustice and I ask God to help us live in safety and peace. We have lost so much.”

Islamic Relief provided Umm Ibrahim with food parcels, hygiene kits, charcoal for heating, and clothes to keep them warm.

With your help, we can continue to be a lifeline for the many families still suffering in conflict-torn Syria. Please donate to our Syria appeal.

Fatima lives with her children in Ali camp, in northern Syria. She lost everything when her village was bombed during the airstrikes. Fleeing to a nearby olive grove, the family hid, surviving by lying down on the ground.

“Our big, beautiful house was turned into rubble,” she recalls. “We heard the planes coming. Even now, when we are having breakfast, we sometimes hear the planes go over and we have to leave everything behind and flee to the farmland.”

The hardships of the camps

The family find life in the camp extremely difficult. There are very few resources available and there has been a drop in the amount of humanitarian aid available in the area. Winter makes everything worse: without sufficient shelter or enough bedding, the family has little comfort as they battle the harsh weather.

“We used to live in comfort and happiness, but now we live in misery. A day feels like a year because of the hardships we encounter on a daily basis.”

The devastation of winter

Fatima recalls a night from last year, when it snowed heavily and high winds destroyed many of the tents. Her husband stayed up to protect the tent, but it unfortunately collapsed, meaning the family had to move to another tent.

“Our clothes and beds were very wet and my children caught a cold. I will never forget it.”

Winter in Syria can be a very dangerous time, and life in Ali camp, which sits at the foot of a mountain, is especially hazardous.

“Stones fall from the mountains during bad weather. It isn’t possible to hear the stones coming, so when it happens, it is very frightening. Once, the stones hit our tent, but by the grace of God, we woke up in time to flee to our relatives in another camp. We ran through heavy rain and complete darkness, as at the time, there was no electricity outside of the camp. I will never forget the horror of that night.”

“We hope that at least here, our conditions will be better than anywhere else.”

The weather and the landslides cause families to flee the camp often, but there is nowhere else for them to go. Fatima tells us, “All of the camps are equal in their suffering. We hope that at least here, our conditions will be better than anywhere else.”

Fatima has now lost her parents and her husband, and raises her children alone. She does all she can to meet their needs but it is very difficult due to the deep poverty in which they live, and the camp’s remote location. She fears for her children when they are sick because medication is expensive and they are not able to travel to the hospital.

“The hospitals are far away and we do not have any means to reach them. My children and grandchildren get sick often, but we cannot go to the hospital. Sometimes we try to wait for passing cars to take us there. In addition to this, medication is very expensive. I need it, but I can’t afford any. I rely on good people to buy it for me, as it is very important that I take it.”

Greater challenges due to Covid-19

The coronavirus pandemic has brought new challenges to the family, placing them in increased danger. Living seven to a tent, it is impossible for families like Fatima’s to practice social distancing, which means the risk of infection runs high.

“My grandchildren sometimes attend school and are taking precautions, such as wearing masks and cleaning their hands, because of the pandemic. We are all very worried about coronavirus. I take care of my children and grandchildren and do everything I can to keep them safe.”

In northern Syria Islamic Relief has been providing winter assistance to families such as Fatima’s. This includes warm clothing for children, plastic sheets for tents, blankets, and mattresses as well as fuel for heating. In addition families receive food parcels, hygiene kits and qurbani meat, so they can eat nutritious meals and practice good hygiene to better protect themselves from disease, including Covid-19.

“Food parcels make all the difference to our conditions here. These parcels, with their nutritional content, help us to prepare food for our families.”

Deep inside Syria, Islamic Relief has been providing food and freshly baked bread, reaching over 770,000 people in 2020 alone. With your help, we will continue to be a lifeline for those still suffering after a decade of crisis: please donate to our Syria appeal.

Umm Faisal has suffered repeated tragedy and trauma since the war in Syria began a decade ago. Both of her sons were killed when their village was bombed. One died from injuries caused by shrapnel, the other was killed while he was working.

The house was completely destroyed and Umm Faisal only survived because she managed to flee to another village in time. From there, she fled to the Aleppo countryside before heading onwards to another village. Umm Faisal describes the grief she felt at this terrible loss.

“My sons were the most precious part of my life. Youssef was 20 years old and Faisal was 35. One of them was married and had 4 children. I grieve for his family. My grandson saw his father dying and fell ill for months due to the shock. He then passed away as a result of this.”

Living in constant fear

Umm Faisal also dealt with severe trauma as a result of her loss and this has triggered health complications, such as asthma.

“A mother’s pain after losing her two children is indescribable, it feels like more than I can bear. When I heard the news, I wanted to take their place.”

She is now responsible for her grandchildren. Traumatised, the family live in fear of passing planes, the sound triggering deeply painful memories. They have been displaced for five years, and now live in a tent.

Hardships in finding food

Due to extreme poverty, Umm Faisal and her grandchildren rely on aid from humanitarian organisations. She does her best to earn money to provide for her family, running a small vegetable store and using the profits to buy food, but worries what will happen if coronavirus advances still further.

“If it wasn’t for this shop, I wouldn’t be able to provide any food for my grandchildren. I am very worried that the coronavirus pandemic will mean a lockdown will be imposed in this area, which will stop me from being able to sell my vegetables. I pray to God to keep this disease away from us so that I can continue to work.”

Covid-19 has made conditions even more unbearable

The coronavirus pandemic has worsened the already difficult living conditions in the hundreds of camps throughout northern Syria, posing an extremely high risk to people that are living in very close confines, with limited hygiene supplies. Islamic Relief has been distributing essential personal protection equipment, such as masks and hygiene kits to help people to protect themselves from infection.

Umm Faisal received a mask and has been wearing it, but finds it very difficult because of her asthma. She finds life in the camp even more difficult now that there is such a high risk of infection.

“I am scared of the virus because I suffer from severe asthma and a doctor warned me that I am at high risk of developing complications from the virus. I always keep my inhaler by my side, and it is very important to me. When I feel short of breath, I use it immediately and it helps. When I lose it, or if it’s not available, I feel anxious.

I have been trying to protect myself, but it is impossible to socially distance in these camps. Seven people live in each tent, which puts us at high risk.”

Hope for an end to the war and a reunion with family

In addition to masks and hygiene kits, Islamic Relief has provided food parcels and qurbani meat to alleviate.

“The support you give us is an essential part of our lives that we cannot live without. I pray that you will keep providing us with aid.”

After a decade of conflict and suffering, Umm Faisal longs for things to return to the way they once were. Her surviving relatives are living all over the world and she dreams of meeting them once again.

Read more in our report. Help us continue to be a lifeline for people like Umm Faisal who are suffering in this desperate crisis: please donate to our Syria appeal.

Dr Ihsan is a cardiologist working in a hospital in northern Syria. Like many hospitals in Syria, there are no facilities for Covid-19 patients at the hospital where he works.

Many medical centres in the area lack the vital equipment, such as x-ray machines, CT scanners, and laboratories needed to treat patients with Covid-19. Dr Ihsan describes the important precautions that his staff take when treating patients at the hospital.

“At the hospital, we are taking precautionary measures and wearing masks and gloves. All patients have their temperature checked before entering the hospital and are asked if they have symptoms of coronavirus. If they are symptomatic, they are sent to the quarantine centre.”

The reality of statistics in Syria

Covid-19 reached northern Syria relatively late, but is now spreading quickly. Dr Ihsan worries that the number of confirmed cases could be higher than official figures show.

“The total number of cases [are] much higher, as not all those with symptoms take a test. Many people are afraid to have a positive test result, and decide to isolate and stay home until they feel better.”

Dealing with the Coronavirus was easier during the summer, as people were able to practice social distancing by spending time outside. However, the freezing Syrian winter makes social distancing much more difficult, and with up to 10 people living in each tent, the virus can spread much faster.

Challenges inside refugee camps

Due to the deep poverty faced by people in the camps, not everyone can afford to buy masks and even with the knowledge of how to practice good hygiene, not everyone has the means to do so. This puts people living in the camps at very high risk of infection, with little means to control an outbreak.

“Due to communal bathrooms, clean water is not available all the time. People are unable to regularly wash their hands, as they do not have water or soap. If someone gets coronavirus, it is impossible for them to quarantine as they are living in a tent with six other people. We pray to Allah for help for these people,” Dr Ihsan tells us.

Life in a crisis zone during the pandemic is taking its toll on doctors like Dr Ihsan.

“We see a lot of sad cases, some of which we are unable to forget. For example, 4 years ago, an air strike happened at the entrance of our hospital. A guard, a nurse, and two others were killed. We were unable to do anything for them.”

The heart-breaking side of being a doctor

He describes a young man of just 24 who came to him. He had no history of medical conditions and was showing only mild symptoms.

“Two days later, his situation got worse. His oxygen saturation level was very low. I sent him to the quarantine centre in the hospital, where he was admitted. His oxygen saturation levels dropped even further and he was given oxygen. They then did a scan, which showed a worrying picture. I hope he recovers soon.”

Dr Ihsan also worries about the impact of winter on those who already suffer from health conditions.

“For those with chronic illnesses, winter is very dangerous, as getting the flu can worsen their condition. They would require quality medical care. However, Covid-19 even affects healthy people. This means that the situation is even more difficult for those dealing with malnutrition, chronic illnesses, heart disease, or with issues in blood pressure or blood sugar.”

Hopes for the future

Looking to the future, Dr Ihsan feels uncertain.

“Thinking about 10 years into the future feels impossible. At the moment, we can barely think about the next month as we don’t know what is going to happen. Many people are dreaming about going back to their homes.

“We know that more than 1.5 million were displaced in the last few months. So, we dream about peace in this area, we dream about all displaced people being able to go home, leaving their tents and their miserable situation.”

For a population that has lived through a decade of crisis, Covid-19 is just another tragic reality to deal with. Although people are very fearful of becoming ill, Dr Ihsan reports that, to many, the virus is just another crisis, that pales in comparison to the horrors that they have already lived through.

“People here are not very scared about Covid-19, because they have already been through so much. They have dealt with airstrikes, displacement, miserable living conditions and losing loved ones. So, many consider Covid-19 akin to a mild infection, and nothing compared to the injuries caused by air strikes, psychological trauma or the poverty they have been living in.”

Islamic Relief is at the forefront of the response to the Covid-19 outbreak in Syria. As part of efforts to reduce the spread of coronavirus, we gave 84 health facilities personal protective equipment (PPE) including masks, gloves, and medical gowns, as well as no-contact thermometers, hand disinfectant gels, disinfectant sprays and other sterilisation solutions. We ran awareness-raising campaigns in health facilities, which we also supported to establish quarantine areas.

Read more in our report. Help us continue to be a lifeline for those still suffering after a decade of crisis: please donate to our Syria appeal.