The spread of religious projects in the camps of northern Syria in light of the poor living conditions

With the continuation of events in Syria and the deterioration of living conditions day after day for hundreds of thousands of displaced people in the camps of northern Syria, and with the failure of the concerned authorities and international and local organizations to provide the necessary support to these camps, individual initiatives and support by individuals were the only solution for these displaced people, as many people provided Supporting people of different Arab nationalities support camp gatherings and implement development projects. However, this has begun to change over the past few years, and the phenomenon of supporting religiously oriented projects has begun to surface, far from providing food, medicine and education.

Many of the displaced people are currently complaining, within the camps for the displaced in the areas of Idlib and its countryside, under the control of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, of harsh living conditions, in which the minimum necessities of life are not available, especially during the winter, while supporters from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait are implementing projects of an Islamic nature, such as building mosques, Qur’an memorization centers, Islamic institutes and schools. Although the majority of the displaced do not oppose these projects, as the majority of them are Muslims, they are demanding that they be mitigated, and that the provision of food baskets, medicine, drinking water and bread be given priority, and that the provision of food baskets, medicine, drinking water and bread and should not the other projects be given priority and support.

In this context, the media activist (Khaled A.) said in his interview with Aso News Network, residing in the town of Al-Dana in the northern countryside of Idlib: “The supporters, including businessmen and others from the Gulf states and Palestine, have different goals from one to another, and each supporter pours his support into a place, and here are the associations that carry out these projects or the people they relies on, do not even dare to discuss the support and where to go for fear that he will stop completely.” Pointing out that “the phenomenon of establishing Islamic projects has actually expanded in recent times and has become a priority for many of these supporters.” “So far we have not found an explanation for this issue.”

He added, “Now in any camp you go to, even if it is small, you will be surprised by the presence of more than 3 mosques, even though some camps do not have more than 100 families. If we exclude women and children, the number of men and young men within one camp is very small and may not even exist.” It doesn’t exceed 30 people, so there is no logical explanation for the existence of all these mosques.”

He continues his speech by saying: “There are also large numbers of Qur’an memorization centers and Islamic schools, and as a result of all of this, the people have begun to complain that this money or part of it has not been put into development projects such as providing bread, which is one of the heaviest burdens on the shoulders of the displaced family, in addition to providing food baskets and drinking water, preparing sanitation for the camps, installing new tents, paving roads, and many other necessities.”

As the young man (Muhammad S.), 30 years old, said in his interview with Aso News Network, describing their living condition: “I am married with two children and reside in one of the camps in the Armanaz area in the Idlib countryside. I work as a day laborer with a daily wage that does not exceed two dollars (about 30 thousand Syrian pounds), and sometimes I stay for several days without work, and with the long period of displacement of me and my family from the southern Idlib countryside, which exceeded 5 years, our tragedy has multiplied greatly.”

He added, “For more than a year, I have not received any assistance, whether a food basket or anything else, while we find that donors are flocking to implement reconstruction projects for mosques and centers for memorizing Qur’an, and there is great neglect of the things necessary for human life.”

Pointing out that “the major humanitarian organizations have declined greatly in their support, and are currently relying on small associations, initiatives and support from donors, but there is mismanagement of this support. Every donor wants to work according to what he sees fit without thinking about the basics.”

Mrs. (Maryam Kh) said in her interview with Aso News Network: “I live with my husband and four children in one of the camps, within the Atma border community, and he currently works in a store for very little money, not enough to cover half of our daily needs.”

She expresses her opinion on the projects mentioned above, saying: “The issue of building Sharia institutes, mosques, and Qur’an memorization centers is not more important than the lives of the displaced, despite its importance to us as Muslims, but how can this child go to study and succeed when he suffers so much in his tent with his family?”

Maryam Kh continues, saying: “We sometimes see opening parties for such projects being held. The party includes a luxurious lunch for a large number of officials in the association that supervised the receipt of the donor’s money and implemented the project, in addition to decorations, gifts, etc.” She believes that “this money should be provided to support the displaced, especially since we are in the cold winter and the great suffering we are experiencing.”

Through surveying the opinions of many displaced people, it became clear that there is great tension and dissatisfaction on their part, due to the continuation of these donors and supporters in building projects of a religious nature, and their neglect of the bad conditions that the displaced people and immigrants live in these camps.

It is noteworthy that many displaced people hold Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham responsible for the spread of these projects and the neglect of their living conditions. It has a security force through which it can limit this, but there is a deliberate, incomprehensible reason for leaving these donors to work according to their whims, without management or planning for this huge amounts,which spent by them.