In a dilapidated camp in northern Syria, children uprooted by the nation's 13-year conflict frolicked and splashed in mobile swimming pools operated by volunteers, offering a welcome respite from the scorching summer heat. The Smile Younited charity's volunteers had scarcely any time to complete setting up the three pools in a bustling square encircled by tents before children of various ages leaped in, dancing to tunes played over loudspeakers. These pools at the Kafr Naseh camp in the Aleppo countryside offered a rare form of entertainment to young boys and girls whose lives have been marred by war and poverty.
Mohammad Ezzedine, 38, expressed his joy at seeing his five children so delighted. "I hope they can return every week... because it's hot and the kids need to divert themselves and have fun" as "they live under pressure within a confined camp," he explained. The children "had never experienced a pool before. The best we could manage was to place them in a plastic tub and fill it with water" when available to cool off during the summer, Ezzedine added.
Over five million people, the majority of whom are displaced, reside in regions outside government control in Syria's north and northwest, according to the UN, and many depend on aid to survive. As the conflict persists, a shortage of international funding has drastically reduced the availability of essential services such as water, waste disposal, and sanitation in displacement camps outside government control in Syria's north and northwest. Residents of the Kafr Naseh camp report they have been without access to free, clean water for a year and a half.
"The old and the young crave water because it is a lifeline... The camps are parched," said 65-year-old Habiba Hamdush, who has lived in the camp for six years. The children in the camp "lack everything... Some have never seen a pool before and don't even know how to swim," she said. But now, they can "enjoy the pools, which are a source of joy and relief from the heat," she said while watching 15 of her grandchildren play in the water. Many of them were very young when her family was displaced from neighboring Idlib province and "grew up in the camp thirsty, hungry, living in tents and exposed to the sun," she said.
Syria's civil war, which began in 2011 with the suppression of anti-government protests, has claimed over 500,000 lives and displaced millions. After swimming, the children gather around plastic tables drinking juice and eating fruit—food supplied by the charity. "They don't understand what a trip to the pool entails, so we brought the pool to them," said Ayman Abu Taym, 30, who leads the team of volunteers. "Children need more than just aid; they also require activities like playing and swimming," he added.
