While aid campaigns for the people of Rojava continue in many cities, there has been taking place a significant decrease in the aid coming to Suruç, where large numbers of people from Kobanê have recently taken shelter following the attacks of ISIS, as the season turns into winter, leaving refugees facing more challenging conditions.

People in cities in North Kurdistan, Turkey and abroad continue to provide support and material aid from the first day on to meet the basic needs of around 200 thousand people from Kobanê, who have found shelter in North Kurdistan after being forced to flee their hometown because of the attacks of ISIS gangs. However, as the season turns into winter, some basic needs such as electric blankets, stoves and winter clothes remain to be met urgently.

The aid collected on the initiative of the Association of Aid and Solidarity for Rojava is stored in the Garage of the Suruç Municipality. Halil Akbaş, member of Urfa Metropolitan City Municipality assembly and one of the responsible persons of the storeroom, said the aid is primarily sent by DBP, HDP and the municipalities of DBP as well as the NGOs and the sensitive people who want to be in solidarity with the people of Rojava. Akbaş said, the aid material they receive mainly consists of food.

Akbaş told that there has been recently a significant decrease in the collection and delivery of aids for the refugees from Rojava ahead of the approaching winter season, and made an urgent call for “tents, beds, electric stoves, blankets, winter clothes and food, especially for breakfast”, in order for the people from Kobanê not to suffer from the winter conditions.

Akbaş further stressed that they especially need beds and blankets as the winter is already being felt in the region, adding that “We have quite a good amount of clothes suitable for summer, but we need clothes for winter at the moment. I ask people to send clothes and aid suitable for winter conditions. We also ask them to send first hand materials. We have to meet the need for bed and food for breakfast in the first place."

Akbaş recalled that they faced a huge inflow of refugees, adding; “The winter conditions are becoming severer. We have some preparations for that, but it is not enough. We try here to meet the needs of the people by means of the aid sent to Suruç but the aid reaching us is not enough at the moment. We are sending materials to not only the districts of Urfa, but also to Nizip and Karkamış districts of Adıyaman and Antep. But we lack a lot of things, especially food for breakfast, and blankets. It is winter, but we still do not have enough tents. We have a basic insufficiency in the aid materials."

Akbaş also remarked that the tents in the tent cities are not suitable for winter, but they are the only ones they have for the moment, adding that “We initiated a campaign. We will try to collect electric stoves. We will cover the tents with nylon to protect them from the cold. The number of people in the tent cities is quite high while there is not enough number of tents. It would be better if we could build container cities. Until now, 5 tent cities have been established, and 2 big ones are under construction. But these will not suffice either to meet the demand."

Istanbul comes first among the cities from where the aid is coming, followed respectively by Amed, Van, Adana, Ağrı and Mersin.