A Humanitarian Tragedy in Eastern Ghouta
Catastrophic conditions
Eastern Ghouta’s stifling siege has brought about catastrophic humanitarian repercussions. In Douma, our teams rushed to relieve the afflicted residents and households who were forced to leave their homes to underground shelters after intensive shelling . while they sought refuge from missiles fired at their homes around the day, these shelters fell short of sustaining human livelihood for even one day, in normal conditions. Douma residents remained there for three weeks.
Project details and results
Civilians were faced with a tragic situation; the underground shelters provided poor ventilation while hygiene facilities were absolutely absent. Food and medicine ran out quickly and seeking supplies from outside, for even one second, threatened their lives with a definitive death. As a result, Beyaz Eller teams began to cook and distribute hot meals (rice and meat) to the besieged civilians with support from Al Rahma International, Kuwait. The number of distributed meals reached 7,000 packages which benefited 7,000 beneficiaries of the neediest households and families, following a brief assessment of needs to verify the recipients’ eligibility.
A young man in twenties reflects on the ongoing crisis:
A mother and her young children:
“I never thought I might reach this point. I was a young man in the true sense of the word; attending university, hanging out with friends, and having big dreams. Since the war has begun I turned to a helpless deportee and had to drop university. Adding:“The dire conditions have not quelled my thrust for self-realization. I began to invest in my photography talents and document the ongoing incidents. Nevertheless, a missile was fired at my direction and caused my leg to get amputated. Now as a deportee who cannot move around, It is much unpossible for me to leave this shelter.”
A mother in her thirty struggles to afford food to save her starving children. She says: “I cannot do anything for them. They desperately cry of hunger and fear and one of them is seriously malnourished. I depend on Allah then you to save him from these dangers.”
For you, we keep going…
The organization continues undertaking its humanitarian role indifferent of the surrounding threats, in hope to alleviate the afflicted communities and support them towards hope and survival.