Despite the difficult conditions, the refugees of ‘’Barika’’ refugee camp in ‘’Sulaymaniyah’’ are facing the hardships of life on their own

Despite the difficult conditions, the refugees of ‘’Barika’’ refugee camp in ‘’Sulaymaniyah’’ are facing the hardships of life on their own

Aug 06 2018



Special for Bercav | Mohamed Hassan - Sulaymaniyah
The economic crisis in Kurdistan region of Iraq has affected all society layers, and the Syrian refugees who are living in have a large share of these crisis, due to the decline in employment opportunities and low wages.
All these and other reasons drove the Syrian Kurds refugees in ‘’Barika’’ camp in ‘’Arbat’’ district in ‘’Sulaymaniyah’’ province to rely on themselves to provide their daily sustenance. Especially after the decrease of interest of international organization in the camp. However, when you enter the camp, you face two large plates bearing the slogans and names of a large number of international organizations and countries that have projects to assist the refugees inside the camp, but inside the camp there are other stories and tales.
Which led them to seek other sources of income to provide the requirements of their families. Some of them tried to find a job inside the camp either by building some small shops such as grocery and restaurants or working in some professions such as hairdressing, shaving and others.
While others seek to provide jobs outside the camp in the province of Sulaymaniyah. With the early morning, we find many small bus cars stand at the door of the camp to move hundreds of youth of the camp to ‘’Sulaymaniyah’’ province. These young people are engaged in various trades manual.
‘’Jwan Hussein’’, a young man from‘’Qamishli’’, city was forced to flee the Syrian army for nearly four years as a result of his "lack of faith in this war and the danger to his life." Jwan is currently working in a popular restaurant in ‘’Sulaymaniyah’’ city. "At the beginning of my arrival in Kurdistan, the economic situation was much better, but as a result of the economic crisis, job opportunities have decreased and our wages are barely enough to pay our monthly wages in the restaurant," said Jwan.
Some refugees have found some job opportunities inside the camp by opening small shops for some professions. "I try to provide the expenses of my family through my work in this shop, but most of the cars here are very old and you need a lot of time and effort, and in the end I get a few pay from their owners because of their difficult living conditions," Khalid said. "
"Our method of work is difficult and hard because local authorities prevent our work on the pretext that the drilling of artesian wells affects the groundwater," said Ala’eddin, a forty-year-old man from ‘’Kobani’’ who owns one of the excavators. Which leads us to work differently and only during the night, while we sleep during the day. "
As you stroll through the camp, you must hear the voice of the young Afrinian, a red watermelon seller, especially in the morning and with the evening approaching due to the high temperatures during the day. "I have a family of five people who live through me, I go to the Evergreen and buy enough watermelons on my small truck.."
Many stories are hidden by the ‘’Barika’’ camp for Syrian refugees between the two folds, all of them confirm that the will of life remains unbreakable despite the difficult circumstances. In the hope that these refugees will return to their country one day as written on one of the walls of the camp after the Syrian war, which lasted seven years ago.