Poverty-stricken Syrians and Lebanese in a harrowing struggle for warmth

BEIRUT (Parliament Politics Magazine):  Many Lebanese and Syrians have been left searching for methods to stay warm, including burning plastic and burning old clothes by a snowstorm in the Middle East.

In certain cases, sheep dung has been used for keeping warm when temperatures drop and poverty rises.

The storm, which has been called “Hiba” in Lebanon, began on Tuesday night and is predicted to reach its height on Thursday. As a result of economic collapse and currency depreciation, an increasing number of households will be unable to buy fuel to keep their houses warm this winter.

A considerable number of Syrian refugees and others who were displaced as a result of Syria’s war are sleeping in minimally heated tents in Lebanon and Jordan, relying on layers of blankets for warmth.

Prevailing Difficult Situation

Social activist Baseem Atrash said that the situation is very, very difficult, speaking from Arsal, a snowcapped town on the Syrian border in northern Lebanon. With 50,000 Syrian refugees, Arsal is one of Lebanon’s largest refugee camps, with the majority of them living in makeshift tents.

Syrian refugees, as well as other Lebanese who fell into poverty ever since the financial breakdown of the country that began in October of 2019, are short of diesel for heaters, according to Atrash, while electric heaters are rendered worthless due to frequent power outages.

Syrian refugees, as well as other Lebanese who fell into poverty ever since the financial breakdown of the country that began in October of 2019, are short of diesel for heaters, according to Atrash, while electric heaters are rendered worthless due to frequent power outages.

“They are burning anything to keep their heaters on, from plastic to old clothes,” Atrash remarked. Having inhaled deadly vapours from burning coal which was lit to heat their room in a town in southern Lebanon, a Syrian mother and her three children died in their sleep earlier this month.

1.5 million Syrians have sought refuge in Lebanon, a country with a population of 6 million people, after fleeing their country’s decade-long civil war. According to the United Nations, 90% Syrian refugee households are living in serious poverty. 

However, as Lebanon comes to grips with an unparalleled economic crisis, both Syrians and Lebanese have become poorer. Many critical necessities are now out of grasp for the typical Lebanese due to soaring fuel prices and collapse of the currency.

A tonne of wood now costs over five times the minimum wage, priced at 3 million Lebanese pounds ($120), while 20 gallons of petrol now cost over 300,000, nearly ten times more than they did 3 years ago.

Final Words

Temperatures in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria are projected to plummet well below freezing, putting the lives of millions already living in perilous situations at jeopardy, according to humanitarian organisation CARE International.

Cold and respiratory infections are on the rise, as is the possibility of COVID-19 in congested camps with inadequate medical care, according to CARE.