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Fully packed trucks with mattresses, bed sheets and underwear are once again reaching Aleppo in the civil war torn Syria. Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has for the first time in four months been able to get convoys to Syrians in need in Aleppo.
According to UN the numbers of internally displaces Syrians have now reached 6.5 million. As one of the largest international humanitarian organizations working inside Syria, DRC ensures that many of the displaced Syrians get emergency aid to cope with the situation. One of the most difficult issues is to gain access to distribute aid around the country. For the first time since July 2013, DRC has been able to get convoys to Aleppo in the Northwestern part of the country.
“We’ve been able to get trucks with mattresses and bed sheets to Aleppo. An area which has been impossible to reach for a long time, and this is pivotal for the many people who have been cut off from help,“ says Kim Petersen, country director DRC Syria.
One of the next tasks will be to get winterization assistance to as many people as possible. In Syria it gets very cold and wet. One of the issues is to distribute warm clothes and blankets to the many families living in unfinished houses and factories.
“It is a life threading challenge. Approximately a third of the 6.5 million people who have fled their home inside Syria, are living in buildings which were never meant for people to live in; factories, tower blocks which aren’t finished, buildings without windows and so forth. For these people the winter is about survival – and this is what we are focusing at the next couple of months,” Kim Petersen says.
DRC is currently providing emergency aid to half a million Syrian refugees in the region every month. DRC is operational in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey and Libya. The aid is water, shelters, mattresses, blankets, kitchen supply, hygiene kits, education, and protection and winterization assistance. DRC has also established community centres inside Syria, where Syrians can get social, medical and juridical consultation.
