Social media platforms in the countries of the region interacted extensively with the depression that struck them recently, which caused a continuous tragedy for the residents of the Syrian camps in the areas of asylum.
On the Lebanese communication platforms, activists shared videos that showed the amount of heavy snow that covered the high areas, amid calls for relief to the refugees who live in those areas.
Syrian refugees live in areas of the Bekaa Governorate (central Lebanon) inside rickety tents in the face of winter storms.
Residents and camp residents continue to appeal for help in facing the wave of frost and snow, especially as they suffer from an almost complete absence of heating facilities.
Video clips broadcast by activists showed the tragedy of the displaced, the deterioration of life conditions, and the snow besieging the tents that were destroyed as a result of the force of wind and snow.
Through video clips, the Syrian activist, Muhammad Al-Hazaa, shared with his Instagram followers scenes of the damage to dozens of tents, calling for immediate aid to the residents who lost even their modest shelter.
Hundreds of tents surrounded by snow also appeared, in a clip published by the Syrian activist, Samer Amer Abu Uday, from inside the Arsal camps.
And the Lebanese Internal Security Forces announced – through their Twitter account – that they had rescued 60 people in the Rashaya area in the Bekaa Governorate, who were surrounded by snow, and 13 of them were now in the Kfarmashki police station to protect them from the storm.
More than one million Syrian refugees registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees live in Lebanon, while the government estimates their number at 1.5 million, as a result of the war in Syria since 2011.
His hands swollen from the cold
Like previous years, this year’s winter has brought severe frosts and the almost complete absence of heating for Syrian refugees in the Lebanese town of Arsal, a tragedy that is repeated every year with the advent of snow storms.
Thousands of refugees live in the Arsal camps in difficult and compelling conditions due to the lack of aid, especially the sources of heating.
The story of the 12-year-old Syrian child, Yassin, was one of the refugee stories that received a wide interaction on the communication platforms, as Qatar Charity published a clip of the child whose hands were swollen because of the cold, as part of the “Save Arsal” campaign recently launched by the Foundation.
From the heart of the field 📍
One story out of many inside refugee camps
You can support them through the site #Qatar_Charity Direct https://t.co/qGSIeLOEIQ pic.twitter.com/ZoI5SqE5Df— Qatar Charity | Qatar Charity (@qcharity) January 26, 2022
Most of the residents of these camps are refugees from several regions in Syria, but the majority of them are from the city of al-Qusayr in the western countryside of Homs, and Deir ez-Zor governorate (east).
ت .واصل #Qatar_Charity Distribution of urgent relief aid (food items, tents, blankets, and sponges) to those affected by the snow storm in northern Syria#warm_and_peace pic.twitter.com/qPjJldU7cl
— Qatar Charity | Qatar Charity (@qcharity) January 27, 2022
A smile in a sea of tragedy
Despite the grief and bitterness of displacement, the children of the refugee camps in Syria and Lebanon are trying to alleviate their suffering with the available means available to them, in light of the difficult life and humanitarian conditions in which they live.
The children appeared in front of their tents playing during the snow in video clips documented by activists in the Syrian refugee camps in the northern regions and the camps of the Bekaa Governorate in Lebanon.
Despite facing harsh living conditions; Dozens of children appeared overwhelmed with joy as they performed the song “Snow Snow, I’m in Winter Snow” by the Lebanese singer Fairuz, in a video published by the Syrian activist inside the Bekaa camps, Youssef Talib.
In the camps for the displaced in the area of Khirbet al-Jouz (west of Idlib), children enjoyed playing on top of the accumulated snow in their tents by skating on plastic panels and playing with snowballs, despite the almost complete absence of heating facilities in the camps, and amid the lack of necessities of life.
Since the beginning of this month, the area has entered an atmospheric depression, which has damaged the tents, which basically lack the most basic necessities of life, due to snow, rain and winds accompanying the depression.
discontent in Jordan
The power outage in a number of Jordanian regions as a result of the snow storm that hit the country sparked a state of indignation among Jordanians, and criticism of the Electricity Company for its failure and lack of readiness.
Jordanian platforms and activists circulated video clips documenting a power outage in a number of areas in the capital, Amman, and an electrical short circuit in the streets, which raised a state of fear and anxiety.
Activists accused the electricity company of negligence and unpreparedness for the snow storm, despite extensive government and media statements about the depression affecting Jordan, calling for urgent action to repair power lines and holding those responsible accountable.
Jordanian media quoted the head of the Energy and Minerals Authority, Hussein al-Laboun, as saying that there is a slowdown in the process of repairing faults with the Jordan Electricity Company, despite directing all companies to declare a state of emergency since last Wednesday noon, adding that they will be held accountable according to the requirements of the licenses granted to them and the applicable performance standards.
Laboun stressed that the authority will not tolerate any failure to provide services to the citizen as it is a top priority for the authority.
And economic researcher Amer Al-Shobaki said – in a tweet on Twitter – that what happened was “a catastrophic failure of the electricity distribution companies after outages that extended in some areas to 14 hours, except for thousands of malfunctions, especially after declaring their readiness a week after the government and meteorology warned about the snow, not mechanisms. Equipped sweepers, tree removal next to power lines, or maintenance of neighborhood transformers, so they must be held accountable.”
