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KAFR NASEH: In a squalid camp in northern Syria, children displaced by the country’s 13-year war played and splashed in mobile swimming pools run by volunteers, giving them much-needed relief from the scorching summer heat.
Volunteers from the charity Smile Younited barely had time to set up the three pools in a busy square surrounded by tents before children of all ages jumped in and danced to songs blaring from the speakers.
The swimming pools in the Kafr Naseh camp outside Aleppo provided rare entertainment for young boys and girls whose lives are scarred by war and poverty.
Mohammad Ezzedine, 38, said he was thrilled to see his five children so happy.
“I hope they come back every week … because it’s hot and the children need distraction and fun” because “they live in a cramped camp under pressure,” he said.
The children “had never been to a swimming pool before. The best we could do was put them in a plastic tub and fill it with water” when they were available in the summer to cool off, Ezzedine added.
More than five million people, most of them displaced, live in areas of northern and northwestern Syria that are not under government control, according to the UN, and many of them depend on aid to survive.
As the conflict drags on, the provision of basic services such as water, waste disposal and sanitation in refugee camps in northern and northwestern Syria outside government control has been severely hampered by a lack of international funding.
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Residents of Kafr Naseh camp say they have not had access to free, clean water for a year and a half.
“Old and young want water because it is their lifeline… The camps are thirsty,” says 65-year-old Habiba Hamdush, who has lived in the camp for six years.
The children in the camp “are deprived of everything… Some of them have never seen a swimming pool and cannot even swim,” she said.
But now they can “enjoy the swimming pools, which are a source of joy and relief from the heat,” she said, watching 15 of her grandchildren splash around.
Many of them were very young when their families were displaced from neighboring Idlib province and “grew up thirsty and hungry in the camp, living in tents and exposed to the sun,” she said.
Since it broke out in 2011 with the suppression of anti-government protests, the Syrian civil war has claimed the lives of more than 500,000 people and forced millions to flee.
When the children finish swimming, they sit at plastic tables, drink juice and eat fruit – the food is provided by the charity.
“They don’t know what a trip to the swimming pool is, so we brought the swimming pool to them,” says 30-year-old Ayman Abu Taym, who leads the volunteer team.
“Children not only need help, they also need activities like playing and swimming,” he added.