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In Pictures: Life in Atmeh camp

In a tent camp on a hill overlooking the Turkish border, Syrians displaced by the war live in dire conditions.

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Mohammed, 9 years old, fled Kafr Zaita along with his family after an alleged chemical attack by the Syrian forces that targeted their village.
By Ahmed Deeb
Published On 25 Jun 2014

Planted on the Syrian-Turkish border, Atmeh camp is one of many housing displaced Syrians who have fled the violence in their country. The camp consists of a number of small tents that sprung up since the war intensified. The estimated population of the camp is 30,000 but it varies according to the vicissitudes of the fighting.  

A wave of families fled from the alleged chemical attacks by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime on their village of Kafr Zaita in Hama city. The conditions in Atmeh are dire as most of the families don’t have tents or a place to live. 

More than 2.8 million Syrians crossed into neighbouring countries since the war started. The figure could reach 4.1 million by the end of the year according to UNHCR. 

(***)I hate to live in a tent. I want to go to my home and play with my neighbours and friends. I want to go to my school to study but I(***)m scared of the bombing,(***) a child said.
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Nearly 6.5 million remain displaced within Syria(***)s borders.
The camp houses around 30,000 people.
(***)I wash my children with unclean water and they drink from it. They became sick because of that,(***) a 30-year-old Syrian women said.
Despite the dire conditions, many people prefer to live in Atmeh camp rather than in Turkey. They say they cannot afford the rental and high living costs there.
There are no schools in the camp.
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Most of the refugees in Atmeh come from the Idlib, Hama, and Aleppo regions.
According to the UN, the number of people needing urgent help in Syria reached 10.8 million.
(***)We depend on foreign aid to survive. Recently Jabhat al-Nusra and a Turkish NGO distributed some food, sweets and toys for the children,(***) a Syrian man said.

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