Children freeze to death in Aleppo refugee camp
At least four children have died from the cold in the Bab al-Salameh camp in the Aleppo countryside as supplies run low for Syria’s internally displaced.
BAB AL-SALAMEH, Syria — It was no easy task getting to the tent where baby Fatima froze to death on Jan. 13. The heavy rain and snow during the past couple of weeks had turned the ground of Bab al-Salameh camp into a muddy swamp, making it difficult to walk.
When Al-Monitor reached the camp Jan. 14, the sun was about to set and it was 2 degrees below zero Celsius. Although the rain had stopped, there was snow between the tents.
Dr. Ali Nasser, Bab al-Salameh’s medical director, led the way to where Fatima died. Her father, Rashid Ali, was trying to clear the mud and create a path leading to his tent. He asked Al-Monitor to wait a few minutes then allowed us inside.
The tent was more or less empty, with just three mattresses and a few covers stacked on one another. Fatima’s mother quickly cleaned up then sat in the corner next to her three children. She told Al-Monitor, “A few days after she was born, Fatima got sick from the cold. She started having breathing problems and got worse by the day, although we kept taking her to the clinic.”
