“We won’t stand and watch those who were forced to flee their homes suffer. We’re all in this together.”
Yasmeenat Souriyat (Syrian Jasmines) is a group of 12 displaced women from 6 different cities across Syria. The group was established in 2018 in Maarat al-Numan, Idlib, and works to provide aid, training, and psychological support to help welcome internally displaced people into their new communities. Aisha Touma, the founder and manager, writes about a campaign the group started today in partnership with Maan organization to provide meals for newly displaced families fasting in Ramadan with no access to food or shelter.
Tens of thousands of families were forced to flee their homes since April 29, mostly from northern Hama countryside, as a result of the escalation of attacks by the Syrian regime and Russia. Today we went to the highway that leads to the Turkish border and saw families fleeing in trucks. I can’t describe how heartbreaking the scene was. No words or photos can adequately reflect the horrible reality. Just one look inside the trucks made me feel all the pain in the world — children, elderly, people with disabilities, the few belongings people could carry with them.
The humanitarian situation is at its worst. Hundreds of families are struggling to find a piece of land to sit on. The weather is getting hotter, children are exposed to dirt and insects. Even a flimsy tent to hide under has become a dream for some families, imagine!
We started cooking meals for displaced families at our centers because all takeout shops in the area have been closed due to the bombing. But despite the jets in the sky we went out to the highway to distribute the meals. We didn’t fear for ourselves once we saw the massive wave of people fleeing.
This crisis we’re witnessing needs immediate funding from governments and we can’t wait for international organizations to take their time to respond. We encourage everyone here to do what they can to provide some relief to those displaced, to show them that we are here for them, that we won’t just stand and watch them suffer. We’re all in this together.
