Salam Al-Omar

Idlib- Since late September, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have fled back to Syria from Lebanon due to intensified Israeli attacks.

About 4,000 families, mostly women and children, have fled back to Idlib, northern Syria, after a journey full of difficulties, according to local statistics. In Idlib, controlled by the Turkish state and Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Turkish-backed faction, these families have been settled in the crowded camps.

Zehra El-Kesir (28) fled from Borj El Brajneh, a municipality located in the southern suburbs of Beirut, to protect her children. She expressed her concerns about the difficult living conditions in the camp, saying, “How will I raise my children here? There is no school, no security and no future for my children. I feel like I am stuck in an endless suffering.”

Zehra El-Kesir had to flee back to Syria because she did not have another choice since she does not have any relatives in Lebanon.

Women worried about their children’s future

Women fleeing back to Idlib are worried about how their children will adapt to their new life amidst difficult living conditions in camps. “There is no health center in the camp while respiratory illnesses are common in winter,” Zehra El-Kesir told NuJINHA.

‘There is no health center around the camp’

Nesrin Süleyman is another Syrian woman fleeing back to Idlib from Lebanon due to Israeli attacks. “My mother suffers from health problems,” she said.

“Water leaks inside our tent when it rains. We receive food aid but insufficient. In addition, my mother needs treatment; however, there is no health center inside and around the camp.”

Hope for a better life

‘We went to Lebanon because we felt unsafe in Syria,” said Huda El-Esved (35). “We decided to return to Syria because of the recent attacks on Lebanon.”

On her journey from Lebanon to Idlib, Huda El-Esved had to pay to pass checkpoints. “Our journey was a difficult journey. I have to get used to my new life, trying to stand on my own two feet without asking for support from any aid organizations.” In Lebanon, she learnt how to sew and she still has hope for a better life. “I sew clothes for women in my tent to earn a living,” she told us.

 They are deprived of their most basic needs

According to women’s rights activists, women, who have fled back to Syria from Lebanon, live in crowded camps without their most basic needs. These camps have no clean water, power and health services. Many women have to live in old tents or temporary shelters, suffering from financial difficulties and unemployment.

 The activists call on international humanitarian organizations to provide food, medications and education to the families fleeing from Lebanon to Syria.