MAARET MISRIN: Exhausted from days of driving in search of shelter in northwest Syria, 38-year-old Ghossoon has no idea where her family will go after fleeing regime and Russian bombardment.
“Thank God we have this car to sleep in, even if it’s not comfortable,” she said, after parking the grey people-carrier by the side of the road.
“We’ve spent two nights in it so far,” she said, sitting on a blanket and leaning back against the vehicle in Maaret Misrin, a town in Idlib province.
“This will be the third night. We’ll stay in it again because we can’t find anywhere else to go,” she added.
By her side, Ghossoon’s husband crouches with their baby daughter in his arms, while their young son, who is wrapped up in a winter coat, clutches a packet of plain biscuits.
Russia-backed regime forces have pounded Syria’s last major rebel bastion over the past two months, forcing more than 580,000 people from their homes and onto the roads.
In the region of some three million people, entire families have headed north in cars piled high with blankets, chairs and pans as they seek to survive the winter.
But many are struggling to find protection from the cold along the Turkish border, which was closed by Ankara in response to waves of displacement earlier in Syria’s nine-year civil war.
Ghossoon and her husband have stuffed warm blankets and pillows in the back of their car, while they have strapped large plastic woven mats to the roof.
“We went to the camps, but there wasn’t any space there,” Ghossoon said.
“We looked for a home but the rent was really expensive. Where am I supposed to find the money?”
The average monthly rent in Idlib’s northern countryside was around $150 per apartment before the latest wave of displacement; the few available are now priced as high as $350, according to a correspondent.
On Wednesday, eight organisations called for an immediate ceasefire, describing the situation as a “humanitarian catastrophe”.
Bahia Zrikem from Humanity Inclusion said “there are simply more people than (there are) homes available.”
“Many of those who have fled are sleeping in their cars or camping by the side of the road.”
In a newly-established camp on the edge of Maaret Misrin, tents made available for newcomers are already packed. Entire families are sleeping on the muddy floor, with carpets, mattresses, and household appliances stacked around them, a correspondent said. — AFP
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