Winter emergency

Across Syria’s northwest Idlib region, a staggering 900,000 civilians have fled for their lives since December.

More than 142,000 have abandoned their homes in just four days.

The number of people fleeing is rising daily, leaving homes and communities abandoned in the face of approaching violence and conflict. 

Schools, mosques and even shelled-out buildings are overflowing with desperate families seeking safety and warmth.

Thousands more are forced to sleep under trees or out in the open in sub-zero temperatures.

Families are resorting to burning rubbish to try and keep warm, and shield their children from hypothermia.

Families fleeing Idlib join a further 3.12 million displaced Syrians already at acute risk across the Middle East in the face of winter conditions.

They are especially vulnerable as temperatures plummet below zero and winter storms wreak havoc in camps and settlements.

In a tent or improvised shelter, as little as 2 mm of canvas or plastic sheeting can separate families from sub-zero temperatures outside.

Many are forced to shelter in abandoned or unfinished buildings, with little to keep out the cold and wind.

Children are particularly vulnerable as they struggle to keep warm.

Children like five-year-old Yaucot, who fled Syria with her parents and reached the safety of Azraq refugee camp, Jordan.

As a new arrival at the camp, she queued up with her father at the distribution centre to receive winter survival basics like blankets, a stove and thermal insulation for their shelter.

“Without this support, my children would be dead.”

Since fleeing their family home in Syria, Khitam and her children have lived in an unfinished building near Beirut, Lebanon. It’s damp and there are holes in the walls. They share one toilet with several other families.

With no windows the winter is bitterly cold and the children fall ill frequently.

Emergency winter relief helps mothers like Khitam access medicine for their children.

In winter, storms hit refugee settlements in Lebanon.

Icy cold, muddy water can flood into shelters, damaging the precious few clothes and belongings of many families.

Already battling the cold and poverty, families are then faced with the new threat of hypothermia.

Drying wet shoes, socks and clothing can become impossible.

UNHCR teams relocate families to dry ground and distributed relief items like blankets and fresh mattresses.

Stoves and fuel helped families to warm themselves up, dry their clothes and cook hot meals.

Emergency shelter materials helped refugees reinforce their homes against further rain and wind.

Winter is descending and temperatures will soon fall below zero. New storms will be inevitable.

Can you help us protect refugee families?