Lack of Electricity Heightens Suffering of Displaced Syrians in Idlib
(AWP) - Electricity is scarce during the winter season in the province of Idlib, northwestern Syria, heightening the suffering of the displaced Syrians who left their homes due to the Syrian conflict in 2011, and have lived in shabby tent encampments ever since.
During the summer months, the camp’s inhabitants rely on solar energy panels to generate electricity, but the panels do not work during the cloudy winter weather, causing a huge problem for school and university students.
“I am a mother of three schoolchildren. We live in a tent with no electricity or batteries. In wintertime, we are not able to charge our solar batteries,” said Umm Abdul-Kareem, a displaced woman from Ma’ret Al-No’man, who lives in Al-Bardaqli camp.
“I study with the children for one-and-a-half to two hours during the day, but at night, I can’t do that. This is our status during the winter,” she commented.
Her husband, Khaled Al-Hussein, said that, like all camp inhabitants, they suffer from the lack of electricity, notably with regard to education.
“For instance, I lost my future prospects due to the lack of electricity. We have a problem during the winter, as solar panels cannot be recharged. When the sun shines, we study with the children for an hour or two, but during the night, there is no studying at all,” he added.
Ibrahim Al-Alloun, a displaced student from Idlib’s southern countryside, said, “When we were displaced, we sought alternatives sources of electricity, which were solar panels and batteries.”
“However, when the atmosphere is cloudy, the solar panels do not work, and lighting is not available. We have so many problems because of this. We students keep waiting to have light during the day in order to study,” he noted.
The tent inhabitants hope that electricity will become more readily available so that their cruel circumstances and the shortage of basic essentials can be alleviated.