BEQAA VALLEY (Lebanon): The winter winds ravaging the Beqaa Valley in Aarsal is at its coldest in 10 years, posing a great challenge to the Syrian refugees in the area.
Mayor of Aarsal, Basel Houjayri, said the area has been covered in 40 to 100cm of snow since last week, making it difficult for the community to conduct their daily activities.
“The temperature reaches -6 degrees Celsius and the people here carry on with their daily lives, but what’s worrying is that the Syrian refugees living here will definitely need help to get through the winter season.
“The discomfort, cold and hunger can kill them even though there’s no deaths recorded in this season at this time so far,” he told Bernama in a translation by the Malaysian Consultative Council for Islamic Organisations (Mapim), here, today.
Houjayri said the refugees need ample provisions to get by during the harsh winter, such as food, blankets and heaters.
“Mapim’s arrival is great news, as is the arrival of other non-governmental organisations, local and foreign, who come to offer aid. Residents in Aarsal also extend their support although they also find it hard to get by and are in need of aid,” he said.
There are 60,000 refugees – victims of the war in Syria for the past seven years – residing in 160 tents in Aarsal. — Bernama
