After managing a camp for displaced people in Idlib… “Whoever endured war can do the impossible.”
In the northern countryside of Idlib, on muddy ground through which polluted water seeps, Suhaila Haj Yahya walks with a serious look on her face. Many months have passed since she tried to convince relief organizations to extend sewage lines in her small camp, but she has not succeeded so far.
The excuse for not helping is always the same: lack of support. “They make my work difficult,” said Suhaila, who acts as the director of a random camp consisting of 20 families. “The hardest thing I face is when someone tells me, ‘I don’t have money to feed my children, and I am helpless in front of them and unable to do so.’” For helping them. A dead person cannot help another dead person.”
Five years ago, at the end of 2019, Suhaila was forced to flee with her family from the southern countryside of Idlib, after she lost her husband and son as a result of being injured in an air strike while they were working in construction.
Suhaila visits the camp people to hear their needs and see their conditions (Asharq Al-Awsat)
When the displaced people arrived in the empty lands in the north, it was necessary to establish a camp in which families gathered who had escaped with their lives, leaving all their possessions behind in search of safety.
“Running the camp was an accident for me,” Suhaila told Asharq Al-Awsat, explaining how her son began establishing it and how quarrels escalated between the men over simple reasons as a result of the escalating psychological pressures they suffered after displacement.
Suhaila intervened to ease the tension and make the camp run smoothly, becoming one of the few women who took over the management of a camp in northwestern Syria, which numbers more than 1,500 according to the United Nations.
“Where are the men?”
Suhaila describes people’s reactions to her role as director of the camp as “surprise and shock.” They often do not believe her and demand that a man come forward to talk to them, and they ask with resentment: “Where are the men so that you can be the director?” The 51-year-old woman said, laughing: “I tell them “Whoever does not want to deal with me can leave.”
In her opinion, most of those demanding to take over the affairs of the camp think that she receives a salary, or that she controls the distribution of simple aid that reaches its residents. “In reality, my role is to listen to complaints and problems and try to alleviate them and convey the voice of the camp residents to those concerned.”
Suhaila reassures the camp residents (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Suhaila does not deny that there are some who oppose her taking over the affairs of the camp from among the families there, but she says that the majority agree with her presence and see it as beneficial, especially for helping the women of the camp and taking care of them if they are alone.
The women of the camp meet with Suhaila every morning and tell her their problems, which she also suffers from. The thin tents that shelter them are not sufficient to repel the extreme elements of the weather or the heavy rain, and make it difficult for the women to maintain their privacy, feel safe, and meet their personal hygiene needs.
Fayez Rajab Al-Hajji, a resident of the camp, finds that Suhaila assuming the management of the camp is a source of comfort and reassurance for his wife when he leaves for work. He told Asharq Al-Awsat: “If the camp had a manager, there would be many problems,” referring to the embarrassment he would suffer with his wife. In case she has to deal with men.
In Fayez’s opinion, the criticism related to Suhaila assuming the management of the camp stems from some people’s desire for possession, and is not related to her competence, but he believes that whoever should take over the management must have a strong personality capable of demanding her rights and the rights of others.
Women leaders
The proportion of women and girls in northwestern Syria exceeds 50 percent of the number of displaced people, more than 800,000 of whom are still residing in informal tents, according to UN estimates, where they have had to endure the harshness of life and often assume leadership.
The displacement and asylum that more than 12 million people in Syria have suffered has had conflicting effects on women, as some of them have diminished their role as a result of the fear of mingling with new, unsafe communities, and the need for others has pushed them to work for the first time to care for their families or to secure a source of livelihood after losing their breadwinner.
The camp run by Suhaila needs a lot of support (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A percentage of women took on supporting their families after the death of their husband, his exposure to disability, amputation, illness, or depression as a result of war-related and economic pressures, according to Suhaila, who believes that a woman who has endured all the hardships of losing loved ones, displacement, and living in camps “can work miracles.”
Sahar Qaddad, a retired teacher residing in the camp, said that it is necessary for a woman to take charge of the camp’s affairs, “because the majority of us are women and we are the ones who have to deal with society,” noting that she feels comfortable expressing her needs and the problems she suffers from to Suhaila.
Sahar, the camp director, does not blame the lack of support and the accumulation of needs in the small camp, as families need food baskets, sanitation services, clean water, and replacing worn-out tents. She believes that the men who took over management are also unable to provide support for their camps. “On the contrary, women are more insistent in making requests than men,” she told Asharq Al-Awsat with a wide smile.
Suhaila visits the camp people to hear their needs (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The visitor to Suhaila camp cannot be mistaken for the general feeling of motherhood that the director spreads among the residents. She treats the older ones like brothers, and the younger ones like sons, and they all respond to her call in moments. “There are many who encourage me to stay and work,” the camp director said: “In our society we find the teacher and the doctor.” And the lawyer, and a society cannot continue without a woman.”
2024-03-08 05:57:53
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