Children traumatized by violence in Syria's al-Hol camp: Save the Children

Children sit next to their mother in al-Hol camp, July 9, 2019 (Photo: Wladimir van Wilgenburg/Kurdistan 24)
Children sit next to their mother in al-Hol camp, July 9, 2019 (Photo: Wladimir van Wilgenburg/Kurdistan 24)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Children living in the Syria's northeastern al-Hol camp "are witnessing devastating levels of violence daily, leading to nightmares, psychological problems, and fear for their own lives," said Save the Children in a new research report

The children of al-Hol have seen their neighbors murdered in their tents, shootings, strangulations, and stabbings while going to the market or school. They also suffer from regular nightmares involving killing and violence and struggle with insomnia. They display aggressive behavior and are unable to concentrate in school. They also wet their beds, vomit, and suffer from loss of appetite. Many of them, including very young children, feel hopeless about their futures, the report said.

The report's findings are based on interviews with more than 20 Syrian and Iraqi families.

According to data from the UN, al-Hol is the largest camp for refugees and internally displaced people in Syria, hosting about 56,000 people, almost half of whom are children.

Most of al-Hol's residents are Iraqis and Syrians, but the camp also includes many foreign families thought to have links to the Islamic State.

Since March 2019, there have been at least 130 murders there, Save the Children said. The majority of the violence occurs in the sections of the camp hosting Syrian and Iraqi nationals.

Save the Children called for urgent efforts to support the safe, voluntary, and dignified return home of Syrian and Iraqi families from al-Hol and the repatriations of children of foreign fighters and their mothers back to their home countries. 

"It is entirely unacceptable that we have five-year-old children in Al Hol telling their parents that they want to die. Children cannot continue to live in such distressing conditions. The level of violence they experience in Al Hol on a daily basis is appalling," Save the Children's Syria Response Director Sonia Khush said in the press statement.

"Insecurity in the camp needs to be effectively addressed without adding more stress and fear to these children's lives, and they urgently need access to more psychosocial support to cope with their experiences," she added. 

Recently, there has been yet another increase in violence in the infamous camp, with at least seven people killed in three days, the Syria-based Rojava Information Centre (RIC) reported last Friday. 

Read More: 7 people killed in Syria's al-Hol camp in 3 days: RIC