Campaign aids thousands of Syrian refugees in Iraq

Thousands of Syrian refugees in Iraq will have a roof over their head this winter following a US$2 million donation by the Big Heart Campaign.

Powered by automated translation

SHARJAH // Thousands of Syrian refugees in Iraq will have a roof over their head this winter thanks fo a Dh7.3 million donation by the Big Heart Campaign.

The aid will help more than 600 families in northern Iraq move out of the single-tent accommodation they share with other families.

The donation was presented by the campaign’s patron, Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, who has been named an eminent advocate for refugee children by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, according to a UNHCR media release.

More than 60,000 Syrian refugees have crossed into Iraq in the past two months, according to UN figures, pushing the total number to more than 220,000. They live in overcrowded camps with little access to food, water and health care.

“The overcrowding makes diseases spread like wildfire from one family member to another, and then from one tent to another until we have a camp-wide epidemic,” said a doctor who helps treat refugees at the camps.

“Children’s weaker immune systems, added to their poor nutrition, leaves them defenceless. Our most urgent need is warmer winter housing rather than tents. Kerosene would not only give us warmth but also dry the moisture and kill bacteria, thus reducing cases of diarrhoea.”

The UNHCR described the Big Heart Campaign’s as a lifesaver.

“This will have a direct impact on the quality of life for Syrians in Iraq,” said Claire Bourgeois, the UNHCR’s representative in Iraq.

rtalwar@thenational.ae