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Beirut, Lebanon – Tens of thousands of children are “wasting away” amid widespread violence and threats in two refugee camps in northeastern Syria, Save the Children says, and governments are “more urgent than ever” foreigners repatriate their citizens who live there.
In a new report released on Thursday, the international NGO highlighted the deteriorating living conditions in al-Hol and Roj camps – citing minimal access to education, the skyrocketing child labor and the upsurge in violence and murder.
So far this year, 62 children have died in al-Hol.
“The magnitude of the violence, hardship, deprivation and trauma that children living in these camps experience on a daily basis cannot be overstated,” the report – titled When Will I Start Living? – read.
Children, many of whom are unaccompanied, make up about two-thirds of the estimated 60,000 people living in the camps.
Fires have been the most common cause of child deaths, with families using heaters and stoves in their tents for warming and cooking food, posing a dangerous fire hazard. Children have also been victims of murder, sexual assault and other crimes.
“Bring the children home”
Bushra *, 10, from Turkey, told Save the Children that she feared living in al-Hol.
“People here continue to fight. I close my ears with my hands whenever I hear them fight. I don’t even let my mom out because they are pulling knives. They swear at each other and also threaten each other, saying, “I’m going to tear your face, I’m going to cut your head off,” she said.
The camp population, led by the Kurdish-led administration in northeastern Syria, is mostly made up of families who lived under the regime of the armed group ISIL (ISIL) and others who fled a military offensive. of the international coalition.
While the majority are Syrians and Iraqis, the report mainly focuses on foreign nationals from around 60 countries around the world.
According to the NGO report, many governments rich in foreign detainees in the camps have neglected their obligations under international law to repatriate them – especially children and families.
“Kazakhstan alone accounts for 36% of repatriations, and more than three times as many as all EU countries, the UK, Norway, Canada, Australia and the US combined,” says The report.
The UK has repatriated four children of whom around 60 are said to remain in the camps, while France has brought 35 children home, with at least 320 children left behind, Save the Children said.
While around 1,163 children have been repatriated since 2017, only around 14 repatriations have taken place this year.
“Save the Children demands that all governments with nationals in the camps take responsibility and bring children and their families home,” the report said.
“Every day that foreign children and their families are rejected by their governments, every day they are denied the opportunity to return home, denied the specialized services they desperately need and denied the right to live in safety. and recover from their experiences. one day too long.
An atmosphere of “fear and violence”
Samiya *, an 11-year-old girl from Tajikistan who has lived in al-Hol for two years with her mother and four siblings, told Save the Children she saw a fire destroy or damage 75 tents in May .
“We heard voices of people screaming all of a sudden. A fire had broken out in our section. One after the other, the tents started to burn. They have completely melted. All the children were running away, screaming and crying, ”she said.
“Our tent was also burnt down. My new clothes my mother bought me burned down. My toys and my hair ribbon, all the Eid candy, everything burned down. Now we sleep in the kitchen and wait for our new tent.
Human rights organizations have likened the unstable camps to detention centers. Some men and boys, who are perceived to be linked to ISIS, are being held in camp prisons.
Other humanitarian agencies present in al-Hol and Roj have also expressed concern for the well-being of children and other camp residents.
Pauline Lenglart, Advocacy Officer at Médecins sans frontières (MSF), explains that the residents of the camp live in an “atmosphere of fear and violence”.
“Access to protection is almost impossible… there are killings every day,” Lenglart told Al Jazeera. “Everyone there would be considered at risk. “
She says residents in distress have often told medical and aid workers that they have received death threats and that MSF workers have also received death threats.
“They fear for their lives,” she said.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) also told Al Jazeera that a gunman entered one of their education centers in al-Hol, threatened their staff and demanded money.
“This serious incident has unfortunately forced us to suspend our activities to ensure the safety of our colleagues,” Bahia Zrikem, policy and advocacy adviser for the NRC’s Intervention Office in Syria, told Al Jazeera.
“We condemn this criminal behavior which, in addition to targeting humanitarian workers, also deprives families who are in great need of our services. “
* Names have been changed.
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