January 21, 2015
Syria
Syrians and Iraqis are trying to deal with the war in their own countries, or as refugees, they’re searching for asylum far from home. All of them are now facing the cold that has hit the region.
„During the last 4 years of war, we have been through very tough winters, but these days we’re facing something brand new, after the Middle East had been hit by snowstorms,“ says an employee of Charity Syria in Damascus. „The war took everything we could protect ourselves with. Most of the time we don’t have the electricity, fuel or gas. There’s no way to stay warm other than having more layers of clothing on, which doesn‘t really help when it is -8 degrees.“
Due to the freezing cold, numbers of people have died in Syria, even the Syrian refugees in neighboring countries. Children suffer most. „The war needs to be stopped, the 
economic sanctions, which impoverished us, need to be stopped. We need to let the world know we are human beings in need of help,“ added the charity worker.
The snowstorm is currently the biggest to strike Lebanon since 1992. Despite the dangerous icy roads the charity workers of Lebanon visited the Syrian refugees living in temporary camps in a valley called Bekaa. On arriving, they discovered that the heavy snow had damaged plenty of asylum housing, where refugees live and try to deal with the freezing weather.
Charitable organizations in Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and Iraq helped refugees and other people to prepare for the upcoming winter. They have provided fuel, heaters, blankets and bedclothes, warm clothes and helped with fixing up the houses to help resist the tough winter conditions. Despite this help the cold is still a big issue.
