Ketramaya camp for Syrian refugees in Lebanon … suffering to secure Ramadan breakfast

Al -Jazeera Net Correspondents

Beirut- In the Ketramaya camp where the tents extend on a barren land, the Syrian refugee or Jumaa lives 14 years ago, the war came from Idlib to Lebanon and found itself here, trying to extract life from the ruins of the losses, but today it faces Ramadan not like any Ramadan that has passed since the suffering reached its climax, and hunger knocks on the doors long before breakfast.

In her humble tent, she moves between her skeptical sons, her older son needs a process and medicines that have no energy by providing her, and he is not able to stand, and his younger brother suffers from the same condition, the bed is also bed, while her husband was a stroke that paralyzed his hand and robbed him of the ability to speak, then he lost one of his eyes.

“I cannot secure a livelihood, especially in Ramadan, where the situation becomes more severe,” she says to Al Jazeera Net with a voice that was saddened by sadness and fatigue. At the call to prayer in Morocco, one of them knocks on one of them, providing her with a simple dish of food and another that provides her with a piece of bread, so she grateful for them silently, leaving everything that has passed.

Against suffering

In turn, Mahmoud Hemash, the Syrian refugee who was exhausted by disability and loss, sits, but he is still attached to patience and satisfaction, leaning on what is found by charities, and in words filled with gratitude he says to Al -Jazeera Net, “And God is not short with us, the people of goodness give us what we need, especially in Ramadan where the suffering increases.”

Mahmoud lost his right eye in the Syrian war, and one of his sons was martyred, while his other son suffers from a disease that barely uttered him. Between the pain of loss and the narrowness of the situation, it is still resisting in light of the scarcity of aid, relying on the limited support.

And he summarizes his need, confirming to Al -Jazeera Net, “We need everything from food, drink and electricity, in Ramadan some associations offer us supplies, and today we attend the pasta for breakfast and with it.”

Difficult days

Aisha Al -Hijjah, another Syrian refugee, speaks with a voice full of pain, “We live in difficult days, especially in the month of Ramadan, we can hardly secure a living, if we reach an help, we can manage our affairs and feed our children, but if it does not arrive, we have no power.”

“Our expenses are limited, and I support a large family of 15 individuals under one roof. In most days, we find on the breakfast table except bulgur or pasta, which we receive from the aid or the monthly supplies offered by the associations.”

Then she adds with a low voice and tries to hide more suffering to Al Jazeera Net.

In the context, Ali Tafsha, a Ketramaya camp official and head of the “Al -Hayat Nour” association, says that they continue to implement a number of initiatives aimed at providing support to the displaced people in these difficult times, and that they are working tirelessly to provide the necessary support as they distribute daily bread to needy families, in addition to securing meals to all the residents of the region to alleviate their suffering.

Continuous flow

Khatsh adds to Al -Jazeera Net that in this camp, they do their best to provide possible assistance based on the capabilities available to them, mainly relying on the voluntary contributions of individuals who are shared by this humanitarian work, and they are also keen that these efforts be comprehensive and effective to ensure that people’s needs in these difficult circumstances.

According to him, there are no clear numbers about the numbers of Syrian refugees in Ketramaya camp, “as a number of them do not have official documents, so it is difficult to deal with statistics in their case.”

He explained that the camp includes a large number of families with a continuous flow of new ones, most of them women, children and the elderly, and they are coming from Deir Al -Zour, Homs, Idlib, Hasaka and Aleppo. He stressed that the camp “will not be forced to leave the place and return to his country before they voluntarily decide.”

It is noteworthy that, since 2011, the town of Kettamaya has been hosting this only camp for Syrian refugees in the Al-Kharoub-Mount Lebanon region, which was held in a valley at the northern end of the town. Ali Tafsha was granted the head of the “Al -Hayat Nour” association on which the camp was built when he was a former member of the municipality.