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Like every year, with the advent of Ramadan, many Syrian families are experiencing difficulties in obtaining supplies for this month, especially as it comes amid the difficult economic challenges imposed by the war that the country has been experiencing for almost 12 years.
However, the initiatives that some civil society organizations are working on ease the burdens of families with limited incomes and those who no longer have a breadwinner due to the war.
In the second week of the month of Ramadan, the challenges seemed greater questyear, especially after about a month and a half after the devastating earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey, causing over 50,000 deaths and extensive damage to infrastructure in both neighboring countries.
However, dozens of initiatives have been launched to ease the burden of poor families in various regions, but the most numerous were recorded in the north-west and east of the country, where the cities were most affected by both the war and the earthquake.
Families without head of household
Thousands of Syrian families, in especially those internally displaced, depend on aid provided by civil society organizations and charities because they are not in able to provide for their basic needs in absence of their breadwinners who were killed in the war or arrested in mysterious circumstances and nothing more is known about them, according to more than one journalist from the Agency family.
Yasser Al-Khabour, who runs the “Al-Firdous Relief Kitchen for Orphans” in the city of Raqqa, confirmed that “the kitchen is an initiative that was launched in 2018, and works all year round every Monday and Thursday, except Ramadan, as work becomes daily for the whole month”.
He also told Agency: “Our work is based on the personal efforts of our expat friends and philanthropists in the city, where we collect money from each other to buy necessary materials such as vegetables, meat and fruit, and then prepare the meals.” He stressed that the number of beneficiary families is 400, but questhe year has risen to 700 with the advent of Ramadan, while 27 volunteers work within the initiative.
The initiative “Iftar of Raqqa fasting” is not much different from “Al-Firdous Relief Kitchen for Orphans”, but the first initiative is aimed at 3 groups at the same time.
economic crisis
Musa al-Hassan, data manager of the Raqqa ‘Iftar for Fasting’ initiative, said, ‘Our initiative continues for the eighth consecutive year and we are working to provide breakfast meals for fasting people. is organized by a group of young volunteers from the people of the city of Raqqa.”
He added to Agency that “the main reason for their continuation is due to the deterioration of the living conditions of the city’s residents due to the current economic crisis and the declining exchange rate of the Syrian pound against the US dollar.”
He also explained that “the subjects supporting the initiative are the people of Raqqa residents in city and expatriates and are not affiliated with any party”, indicating the assistance of 3 age groups, such as minor orphans in first, and people with special needs in second place, followed by the elderly who have no breadwinner.
Al-Hassan and the 100 volunteers working with him aim to increase the number of families benefiting from their initiative to 2,000 families next year, instead of 1,500 this Ramadan.
This team of volunteers distributes food baskets that include vegetables, fruit, meat and food in box in throughout the city of Raqqa, as it is forbidden to photograph the beneficiaries and its publicist is limited to documenting the work.
“My Circumstances Are Difficult”
“My difficult living conditions forced me to resort to charitable initiatives to ensure the food supply for my family of 3 children, as their father was absent for many years after his arrest in mysterious circumstances in the capital” says a woman also from the city of Raqqa. , Damascus”.
He added to Agency: “The lack of job opportunities for women in city is another reason for my reliance on charities, whose assistance I have relied on throughout the year, not just during the month of Ramadan, following my husband’s disappearance behind bars since 2014.”
Similarly, more than one civilian activist who has volunteered for “Ramadan Initiatives” has revealed that most of the beneficiaries of these humanitarian initiatives are women and the poorest groups in the city, as is the case with various initiatives in all Syrian territories.
Interestingly, the Syrian war has led to widespread poverty and unemployment in the country. In the last year 2022, the number of people living below the poverty line reached 90% of the total population, according to an annual report published by international organizations, which also indicated that there are 12 million out of 16 million Syrians who suffer from food insecurity.
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