“Five years ago, I fled Yarmouk. We were trapped for an entire week inside our home when fighting started. With my husband and our five kids, we sought refuge in Akqaba, Damascus,” says Hanane. “We left everything behind: our possessions, our house, our neighbours... We lost everything.”
Sixty-year-old Hanane, who now lives in a small rented house, explains that the mattresses distributed by UNRWA are a basic substitute for the furniture [she] can’t afford. “These mattresses bring me and my family some of the comfort we lost. Even if this is not sufficient, it is still rewarding and I thank God every minute of the day for this additional support,” she says with a smile on her face.
Hanane is one of the hundreds of thousands of Palestine refugees who fled their houses with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing. As the brutal conflict in Syria enters its sixth year, Palestine refugees remain particularly vulnerable.
Radwan, a father of five, has been displaced several times. Following the beginning of the crisis and the subsequent violence in his neighborhood, Radwan and his family left Jobar four years ago. He was then forced to rent a house in Jaramana. Unable to find a job due to a work-related injury, Radwan relies on UNRWA assistance and distributions to support his family.
Currently, in 2016, 510,000 of the 560,000 Palestine refugees who were registered with UNRWA in Syria at the onset of the crisis rely on UNRWA for emergency assistance across the Agency’s fields of operations. In Syria, 430,000 out of the 450,000 Palestine refugees estimated to remain in the country depend on the Agency to support their basic needs, including through food and cash assistance. To meet the most crucial needs of those internally displaced, UNRWA has appealed for US$ 329 million for Syria through the 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan.
The donation of US$ 250,000 from Islamic Relief USA allowed UNRWA to purchase 8,435 blankets and 8,436 mattresses, contributing actively to the non-food items (NFIs) response in Syria. Palestine refugees from different areas – including residents from Yarmouk – benefiting from distributions had indicated their urgent need for blankets and mattresses to better cope during the cold days. NFI distributions are an essential complement to UNRWA operations in Syria that seeks to better respond to the most essential needs of refugees.