Syrians in Idlib camps collect plastic, manure to stay warm in winter

By Ahmet Karaahmet and Mehmet Burak Karacaoglu

IDLIB, Syria (AA) - Forcibly displaced civilians in Syria's northwestern Idlib province are collecting plastic bags and manure to stay warm in winter.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians, who are struggling to survive in makeshift tents, cannot afford to buy fuel wood and coal for winter.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Halidiyyah Ahmad, a resident of Hijra camp in Kafr Arouk village, said: "We don't have the money to buy fuel."

“Our children have nothing... We need winter clothes for children, wood for heating, fuel and stoves,” he added.

We kept warm last winter by burning wood, plastic bags and manure, and this year they will have to do the same to make it through the winter, he said.

Another resident of the camp, Ibrahim Ali said they do not have money to make preparations for winter.

"The camp residents are mostly daily wagers and the money is only enough to buy bread. They can't even buy vegetables. That's why we resort to primitive ways to warm up,” he said.

He said they stay warm by burning manure, wood residues and plastic bags.

However, the fumes from these materials are harmful, he said, adding that their children fall sick by inhaling these fumes.

The Syrian civil war began in 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.

According to UN estimates, hundreds of thousands of people have since been killed and millions more displaced.