LEBANON / SYRIAN REFUGEES WINTER

Syrian refugees in Lebanon are spending their sixth winter away from home. Conditions are very difficult, especially in the winter months. In 2015, a UNHCR survey of Syrian refugees found that 70 percent of refugee households were now living below the poverty line. UNHCR

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:03:04
• Production Date: 19 December 2016
• Asset Language: Arabic
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES - UNHCR
• Subject Topical: REFUGEE CAMPS
• Geographic Subject: LEBANON; SYRIA
• MAMS Id: 1800450
• Parent Id: 1800450
• Alternate Title: unifeed161219c

Description

STORY: LEBANON / SYRIAN REFUGEES WINTER
TRT: 03:04
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / NATS

DATELINE: 16 – 17 DECEMBER, 2016, BEKAA VALLEY, LEBANON

Shotlist

1. Wide shot, Fayda tented settlement in Bekaa valley
2. Med shot, young boy walking in the rain wearing a hoody
3. Close up, rain drops landing on muddy road
4. Wide shot, water dripping from tent onto barrel
5. Close up, water drops falling into barrel
6. Wide shot, father of newly born Mohamed walking between tents
7. Med shot, Mohammed entering his tent
8. Wide shot, Mohammed and his family siting inside their tents with their one-day old child Dayf-allah
9. Close up, Mohammed’s wife Nashmiya feeding Dayf-allah with a bottle
10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohamed, Syrian refugee:
“I had to carry my wife all the way from here under the rain so she could deliver (at the hospital). We came back and I was holding my baby to my chest and covering him with a blanket.”
11. Various shots, Nashmiya feeding Dayf-allah
12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohamed, Syrian refugee:
“We came back and I was holding my baby to my chest and covering him with a blanket.”
13. Close up, Nashmiya
14. Various shots, Mohammed’s older daughter sitting next to her mother
15. Close up, steam coming of heater inside the tent
16. Various shots, baby Dayf-allah
17. Various shots, Fatima draining water from her sewage
18. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fatima, Syrian refugee:
“We are very tired from the cold. Yesterday, when the rain and the storm came, we couldn’t warm ourselves all night. We all had four blankets on us and we still couldn’t warm ourselves. The cold wind was coming from under the tent.”
19. Med shot, Fatima going into her tent
20. Med shot, Fatima wrapping blankets around her 80-year-old father
21. Close up, Fatima’s father
22. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fatima, Syrian refugee:
“My father is 80-years old and has diabetes and he’s now coughing. The toilets are far for him to reach. When it rains we cover him with blankets and take him to the toilets and bring him back.”
23. Med shot, Fatima giving her father water
24. Med shot, Fatima adding fuel to the heater
25. Pan right, Clothes hanging inside the tent
26. Wide shot, two young boy crossing water ponds on the muddy street
27. Wide shot, woman and children walking over mud in a tented settlement
28. Wide shot, tented settlement in Bekaa Valley

Storyline

Syrian refugees in Lebanon are spending their sixth winter away from home. Conditions are very difficult, especially in the winter months. As Mohammed and his family worry about their one-day old baby boy Dayf-allah, in nearby tented settlement Fatima is concerned for the health of her 80-year old father who can barely move.

In 2015, a UNHCR survey of Syrian refugees found that 70 percent of refugee households were now living below the poverty line.

UNHCR reached more than a million people in the lead up to this winter. The distribution of shelter weatherproofing kits, which helps families protect their homes and shelters from the elements, is a year round activity.

By the end of March, almost 27,000 households had received shelter kits. More than 2,400 households have benefited from site improvements of the informal settlements. The goal is to reduce flooding caused by winter rain and snow. Other aid includes handing out blankets and other cash assistance.

Mohammed cannot conceal his happiness at the birth of his one-day old son Dayf-allah. But he won’t forget the day he was born.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohamed, Syrian refugee:
“I had to carry my wife all the way from here under the rain so she could deliver (at the hospital). We came back and I was holding my baby to my chest and covering him with a blanket.”

Mohammed and his wife Nashmiya are from Deir al-zor in Syria. They fled the conflict 4 years ago.

Few miles away in another camp, Fatima is draining her sewage, blocked by rain water. She fled to Lebanon with her family from Aleppo few years ago. They’re safe here but they struggle, especially in the winter.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fatima, Syrian refugee:
“We are very tired from the cold. Yesterday, when the rain and the storm came, we couldn’t warm ourselves all night. We all had four blankets on us and we still couldn’t warm ourselves. The cold wind was coming from under the tent.”

Fatima has to look after her elderly sick father.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fatima, Syrian refugee:
“My father is 80-years old and has diabetes and he’s now coughing. The toilets are far for him to reach. When it rains we cover him with blankets and take him to the toilets and bring him back.”

Thousands in Lebanon’s Bekaa valley struggle in the harsh winter months. Especially the elderly and the young. Keeping Dayf-allah warm and healthy in these early months will be crucial.