Syria’s al-Hol camp not a place for children to grow up: Save the Children

“Since November 2020, at least six children have died as a result of vehicle accidents."
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) – In a report on Wednesday, Save the Children said the death of two women and a 16-year-old girl from the same family in Syria’s eastern al-Hol camp on Monday shows that the camp is no place for children to grow up. 

The news agency Northpress reported on Monday that a water truck belonging to the non-governmental organization (NGO) Care (International) collided with one of the tents, killing three people. A man also lost his leg in the accident. 

According to Save the Children, two women and a 16-year-old girl from the same family were killed and two other children injured when the truck crashed into their tent.

“The two injured children are in hospital where one of them, a 9-year-old girl, is being treated for a fractured pelvis and broken legs,” the statement said.

According to the children’s rights NGO, water trucks, currently the main source of water for the camp, have been regularly involved in accidents in the camp. 

On Nov. 20 this year, a 10-year-old girl from Tajikistan died after being hit by a truck, and a three-year-old Iraqi child was also killed in October. 

“Since November 2020, at least six children have died as a result of vehicle accidents,” the NGO said.

Furthermore, fires are a major risk in the camp and are the most common recorded cause of death for children. 

“Fires are a particularly hazard in winter, when cold and wet weather means people in the camps use kerosene heaters or burn wood to try to keep warm,” the NGO statement added. “So far this year 13 children have been killed by fires in Al Hol.”

Save the Children estimates that there are 60,000 people living in al-Hol and Roj camps, 40,000 of whom are children. 

The majority of the camp’s residents are Syrian and Iraqi nationals. However, there are also women and children from approximately 60 other countries.

“Yesterday’s tragedy is a reminder that no child should grow up in Al Hol risking death and injury,” Save the Children’s Syria Response Director, Sonia Khush, said in a public statement.

“For foreign children, it is vital that their governments repatriate them as soon as possible,” she added. “It is unconscionable that children can die in the camp simply because their governments will not take them home.”

Local authorities decided in October 2020 to expedite the departure of displaced Syrian families as part of a new reform program.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the civilian Autonomous Administration in Northeast Syria (AANES) have repeatedly urged foreign countries to repatriate their citizens stuck in Syria.