Aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has criticized the “unbearable” living conditions in the Syrian refugee camp Al-Hol. The people there are “systematically deprived of their rights” and “permanently exposed to violence and insecurity”. Children are especially affected, according to a report published Monday. Last year alone, 79 children died in the camp.
The Al-Hol refugee camp, which also houses Austrian civilians, was originally intended to provide safe, temporary housing and access to humanitarian aid to civilians displaced by the wars in Syria and Iraq. Meanwhile, however, Al-Hol has “developed into a kind of open-air prison”, MSF writes in the report “Between two fires: danger and despair in the Syrian Al-Hol camp”.
Attempted murder and death due to crimes
64 percent of the people in Al-Hol are children. The aid organization warns that life in the camp is extremely dangerous for them. More than a third of all deaths in the camp last year were children under the age of 16. The leading cause of death (38 percent) in Al-Hol is death by crime. In addition to the total of 85 crime-related deaths, 30 attempted murders were also reported in the 2021 camp.
Boys separated from mothers and carried away
In addition to the perils of the camp, MSF says there are reports of teenage boys being forcibly separated from their mothers or other significant others. There is little information about where they were taken or what happened to them. In addition, some children died because medical care was too slow.
Closure of the camp does not seem in sight yet
Despite the unsafe conditions in Al-Hol, insufficient progress has been made in closing the camp, criticizes the emergency relief organization. “The longer people are held in Al-Hol, the worse it gets. Another generation is then at the mercy of exploitation and has no prospect of a youth without violence,” says Martine Flokstra, MSF project coordinator for Syria.
Austrian citizens in camps too
There are currently about 53,000 people in Al-Hol and other associated detention camps in Syria, including about 11,000 foreigners – from about 60 different countries, including Austria. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vienna is aware of less than ten Austrian citizens in the Al-Roj and Al-Hol camps. Since the outbreak of the war in 2011, four minors with Austrian nationality have been returned from Syria.
“Members of the anti-IS coalition such as Austria, as well as other countries whose nationals are held in Al-Hol and other prisons and camps in northeast Syria, have abandoned their citizens,” said Marcus Bachmann, humanitarian adviser Affairs. in Ärzte without borders Austria, in a statement to the APA. “You have to take responsibility,” he demanded. Austria must also fulfill its legal obligations and ensure the repatriation of its citizens.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
