Palestinian refugee families living in shelters near Damascus have appealed to humanitarian and relief organisations to provide more aid to them throughout the harsh winter. “The families are in dire need of heating, even wood for the fire, and the children are in need of winter clothing,” one activist told the National Working Group for Palestinians in Syria. “At least five children have died from the cold so far this winter,” he added. “We hold all concerned parties responsible for the death of any of the refugees because of the cold and hunger.”
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According to a new report by the working group, around 6,000 families of Palestinian refugees displaced from the Yarmouk refugee camp and other camps are relocated in Qudsayya district in Reef Dimashq governorate. “They are experiencing a real tragedy as a result of the blockade imposed by the Syrian regime forces on the area since last July, which has reflected negatively on them.”
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The Palestinian refugees are prevented from leaving or entering the camps due to the blockade. “Only those with jobs may move about,” said the report, “and no goods are allowed in unless bribes are paid to the soldiers enforcing the siege.”
The working group pointed out that the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has stopped its services to Palestinian refugees who were displaced from their registered camps and live in a school in Adra. UNRWA claims that the services it can provide have been reduced in number and thus effectiveness.
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A number of the refugees displaced from Yarmouk said that UNRWA stopped providing its monthly aid, which consisted of a food package and a medical package, in addition to some supplies for children. This is despite, it is alleged, officials being fully aware that the families taking refuge in the school depend almost completely on the aid provided by the agency.
The school in Adra was initially lived in by about 800 Palestinian refugees displaced from Yarmouk. However, the violence in the country has taken a heavy toll and now there are only around 400 staying there.
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