Damascus, Syria (CU)_ In northwestern Syria, a week-long heavy flooding damaged around 120 schools and wiped off tents in refugee camps. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, over 21,000 children and more than 980 educational personnel have been affected by the floods. It also announced that its latest estimate does not match the overall damage caused as several areas still remain inaccessible. Heavy rains have wiped off hundreds of tents in recent days in north-western Syria’s Afrin province.
Amjad Yamin, director of advocacy and campaigns for Save said, “The most basic thing we need in northwestern Syria is the political will to help children recover from conflict”. He added, “There is an easy way to fund more education – which is grossly underfunded, 75% of what is requested is not met – but there is also a need to put money into infrastructure. There are simply not enough buildings in northwestern Syria for the inhabitants”.
Amjad Yamin continued, “We are regularly forced to make a choice between moving families living in buildings in tents so that they can accommodate schools, or housing schools in tents, which is not a solution. Unless there is a serious investment in infrastructure, we will continue to see the same cycle every winter”. He added, “Increased humanitarian access is needed in northwestern Syria. Four million people depend on it, but the UN Security Council allows only one border crossing for humanitarian aid. We need to remove these restrictions – which block much of what charities can do – and we need to improve funding for access to services”.
Mark Cutts, the UN Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria said, “I am deeply concerned about the devastating impact of the recent flooding on internally displaced people living in camps in northwestern Syria”. He added, “Just last year, 1 million people in this region were displaced by the fighting. Many of them still live under the olive trees by the roadsides, as there are simply not enough camps for all of these people. The international response has not matched the crisis.”
