Syrian family conduct sit-in protest under trees in Lebanon

Almost a year ago, Abu Abdu fled with his wife and his four children from Homs to al-Minieh town in northern Lebanon, where he lived in a house that a well-doer gave him, but a financial distress led the latter to ask Abu Abdu to leave the house, so he found himself and his family living in an abandoned orchard, under this tree.

“I will live under these trees until further notice,” said Abu Abdu, a Syrian displaced.

There is a water well that is almost abandoned, but it is sometimes used by the owners of the place; it does not cover the water needs of the family.

“The calcification and muddiness of the water makes it undrinkable, therefore we buy bottled water from the shop,” said Abu Abdu.

The family uses the abandoned hut for packing purposes and not for sleeping; they prefer to sleep in the open air because they are afraid of the rats and snakes that are in the hut.

“I stay awake all night long so I can protect my children from rats and snakes; I once saw a rat crawling on this electric wire,” said Abu Abdu.

There are no toilets in this place; this is why they use the mud-covered ground as a toilet. As for the baths, they shower in the sea that is located meters away.

“I took the kids and we showered in the sea,” said Abu Abdu.

Around three thousand and five hundred displaced are living in houses, garages or huts in al-Minieh, while the number of the displaced who arrived to the north of Lebanon exceeded 23,000 Syrians, all benefiting from local associations’ aid.

“They mostly need home rentals because they suffer from money shortage,” said Sheikh Ruslan Malas, President of the Social Peace Path group.

Abu Abdu’s tragedy is not limited to finding a house, his eight-year-old son looks younger because of his frail body that was ravaged by sickness. He needs a surgery, and the family is trying to arrange it by asking for financial assistance.

“He has a hole in his heart since he was born and we took him to many doctors but in vain,” said Abu Abdo.

This light coming from a nearby house illuminates the darkness of their nights, while the children play with this old swing set. their only source of joy in this place.