BEKAA
Female Syrian refugees who fled the almost three-year civil war in their country are struggling on their own without their husbands against cold and difficult living conditions at the Arap Rexhep Refugee Camp in Lebanon.
A 25-year old Syrian mother named Hajer left the suburbs of Damascus together with her three children after their home was bombed. She explains she was seven months pregnant when she arrived at a refugee camp.
"Once our house was bombed, we decided to come to Lebanon. Now my baby is born and I must give her medicines but I have no money to buy them,” Hajer said.
Another mother, 60-year old Ata, who was forced to care for her nine children after her husband died tries to earn money by collecting plastic pieces from rubbish. “As a result of rain storms, I couldn’t work last month,” Ata said, adding that she only earns a dollar per day.
International organization Human Rights Watch said in its reports that Syrian women refugees are also exposed to sexual assault, abuse and exploitation.
According to United Nation’s Refugee Agency (UNHCR) data, Lebanon hosts nearly 850,000 registered Syrian refugees but Lebanese authorities say this number reaches 1.2 million.
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