Syria – The Iron Woman Khadijah – Dedicated & Productive Female Displacement Camp Manager
Author: Administrator
Date: July 16, 2022
“We were up to our knees in mud when we first arrived at Afrin,” said 50-year-old Khadijah Afash, a displaced woman, camp manager and founder.
July 4, 2022 – After more than a decade of war, Syria remains one of the world’s largest displacement crisis in 2022. In the north-west, 1.7 million displaced people live in 1,414 camps across Idleb and northern Aleppo.
Today, Khadijah is among the minority of female camp managers in north-west Syria. When she first fled from Anadan to Afrin in 2020 the fields were empty, and many families resorted to sleeping on the floor.
Witnessing these scenes of hardship, Khadijah took it upon herself to establish a camp. Her determination came as no surprise to her peers; they were well aware of her reputation back in Anadan as the “Iron Woman.”
“I like to challenge myself,” said Khadijah. “I was the first woman in my village to drive a car, graduate from university and become a school principal.
They tell me that as a woman I should stay on the margin. But I say as a woman I will be active, and I will raise a generation.”
She recalls growing up with a mother who prioritized education among all her children, regardless of their gender.
In the early stages of establishing the camp, Khadijah was able to secure basic services with the support of non-governmental organizations. First came the tents, then water networks and bakeries were gradually connected.
Today, the Falah Center camp is among the more than 1,400 registered camps under the Syria Cross-border Camp Coordination and Camp Management Cluster. It hosts 128 families, including 700 children, and its school enrolls 200 students.
“I have a WhatsApp group with all the families in the camp. When the bread arrives at my office in the morning, I alert everyone with a message,” she said.
Now in her free time, Khadijah grows fruit and vegetables in a garden and shares them with workers on the land.
“If aid stops coming in, people will go hungry,” she stressed. “I fear that the school will be emptier while child labour will increase. As long as we are displaced, we need help.”
The women, children and men in Falah Center Camp are among the 2.4 million people who benefit from UN cross-border aid each month. This cross-border operation is authorized by the UN Security Council. The camp receives monthly food baskets, and water and drainage support.
Khadijah’s appeal to the international community is to strengthen its support for the people of Syria.
“I am scared of losing a whole generation of Syrians and their future. I hope Syria will be back as it was to be one of the world’s most beautiful countries,” she said.
The Syrian Iron Woman by UN Humanitarian – United Nations OCHA (exposure.co)
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