
Winter, Aarsal in Lebanon © Lebanese Red Cross
I have just come back from Lebanon and have seen first-hand how Syrian refugees there are struggling.
More than a million Syrians refugees now live in Lebanon. You may have seen in the news that harsh winter weather has hit them hard.
Vulnerable families are picking up the pieces after a storm drenched the tents in which many Syrians now live. Heavy snow and floodwaters and have damaged hundreds of makeshift camps.
Our team in Aarsal, Bekaa district, has finally managed to open the roads properly. Families residing in these tents will be receiving new mattresses and blankets in a few❄️ #Norma #Lebanon pic.twitter.com/uius4V0NXb
— ICRC Lebanon (@ICRC_lb) 10 January 2019
Aarsal in Lebanon: a bleak place to live
I visited one camp last month, in the wind-swept town of Aarsal in Lebanon’s mountainous east.
Since it is close to the Syrian border, Aarsal has been the first stop for Syrians fleeing the conflict in their homeland.
Many Syrians have been living here for five long years. They shelter in makeshift tents, often seven or eight to a room, around stoves that provide their only source of heat.
The town is 1,550m above sea level – 200m higher than Ben Nevis, the UK’s tallest peak.
The height means that conditions here are difficult at the best of times. In winter, sub-zero temperatures and standing water make this an incredibly bleak place to live.
“The storm was really heavy. Everybody got sick, and I’ve been freezing ever since it started,” says Riham the 7-year-old. #Lebanon #Norma #Bekaa pic.twitter.com/2QpFmkDdgD
— ICRC Lebanon (@ICRC_lb) 10 January 2019
There were just 4 million people in Lebanon before the Syrian conflict began in 2011. Since then the country has struggled to accommodate more than a million registered Syrian refugees.
Many refugees get help from the Lebanese Red Cross as well as other agencies. But the support only goes so far towards covering their basic needs.
Syrians have only limited rights to work or access health care. Forced evictions from the many makeshift refugee camps in the country are also on the rise.
For the immediate future, there seems little appetite among the people I met to make the journey home to Syria.
But the patience of Lebanon’s government and citizens is running out.
Cash grants pay for essentials
One major problem is a lack of work. Recent reports state that three out of every four Syrians are out of work in the area.
The Lebanese Red Cross is providing ATM cards to people who need extra help in the Aarsal area.
The cards are topped up with $175 every month. This allows the most vulnerable people to buy essential winter items and food, pay their rent and meet basic household needs.
Three remarkable women

Warmed by a stove in Aarsal, Lebanon© Alicia Melville-Smith/British Red Cross
One recipient of an ATM card is Aya. Inside her tent, her mother and disabled grandmother sit huddled around a stove – their only source of light as well as heat.
These remarkable women are three generations of a family who have had to flee their home city of Homs in Syria several times. Too scared to return soon, they instead plan to remain in Aarsal for another winter.
As well as the ATM card, Aya tells me that her grandmother also received special assistance from the Lebanese Red Cross. She finds it nearly impossible to use the traditional, low toilets that are commonplace here, so the Red Cross gave her a higher toilet.
“My nerves are not good in the cold”

Khadija © Alicia Melville-Smith/British Red Cross
Outside the camp, in the nearby town itself, I met another woman with a Lebanese Red Cross ATM card.
Even though she is not a Syrian refugee, the Lebanese Red Cross supports 51-year-old Khadija because her disability makes her especially vulnerable.
Sitting by a central beam in the middle of her extraordinary living room, Khadija told me:
“In this village it is very cold. I live alone. I had a brother who died last year.
“I had a fever when I was a child. My parents back then didn’t take me to the hospital. I have been like this since then. I have nerve paralysis. My nerves are not good during the cold.
“The Lebanese Red Cross has helped me with food items – whatever I want from the store I get it on the card.
I use it [the ATM card] all the time. My life would be,” she said trailing off in thought, “without it I wouldn’t have money and I couldn’t get anything.”
Two rays of sunshine
مولود جديد داخل سيارة الإسعاف اثناء اخلاء امرأة حامل من جرد عكار
Delivery inside LRC ambulance while evacuating a pregnant woman from Akkar @IFRC_MENA #نورما #Norma pic.twitter.com/zgrFB4XJoC— Lebanese Red Cross (@RedCrossLebanon) 7 January 2019
Days after the storm, the remarkably resilient people of Aarsal are already beginning to rebuild their makeshift shelters.
Yet, perched on the hillside in this remote corner of Lebanon, life in these windswept tented slums will continue to be harsh for the foreseeable future.
The Red Cross is doing all it can for these families. Immediately after the storm, more than 300 Lebanese Red Cross volunteers and staff worked round the clock to protect people from the rain and snow.
Among the near-600 rescue missions they performed were two rays of sunshine – two beautiful, healthy babies delivered inside the Lebanese Red Cross ambulances.
I can’t help but wonder, what will the future hold for these two new-born babies?
The Red Cross will continue to do all it can for the most vulnerable families through this winter and beyond.
You can help by donating to our Syria Crisis Appeal.
Mar 19, 2019 @ 10:47:56
The best, most appreciate act and example, humanity from the Lebanese red cross and the Lebanon government to take this challenge to give style to Syrian refugees. The world should help take part this serious situation after the storm and World should Donate to Syrian refugees more an more to have better lives as soon as possible.
Sep 20, 2019 @ 16:59:28
I do support the Red cross as much as I am able and have been especially interested in the Syrian refugees in Lebanon it is wonderful to learn more of all that is being done for them. I also pray with news from Open Doors Mission and am so thankfully to you for all the help you are able to give them and for your sacrificial help
Sep 24, 2019 @ 16:19:12
Dear Mrs Brown, Thank you very much for your support of the Red Cross and our work in Syria. It is support from people like you that allows us to help people in crisis in Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere. Best wishes, Diana
Sep 25, 2019 @ 07:56:22
Great job thanks for Sharing
Sep 25, 2019 @ 07:55:12
Thanks for Sharing
Dec 07, 2019 @ 12:42:58
Is it possible to contact Red Cross offices in Lebanon and Iraq on behalf of extended family members of refugees settled here in UK.?
Dec 11, 2019 @ 14:38:39
Hi Debra, I you are looking for information on reuniting families, you can start by visiting https://www.redcross.org.uk/get-help/find-missing-family to get the contact details for your closest British Red Cross family tracing service. They can work through the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to find information about refugees’ families. I wish you very good luck with this, Diana
Feb 19, 2020 @ 21:06:55
I heard this week that children had died in the cold in Syria and that some families had no money for a tent. I think all the wealthy people in the world should donate to help this crisis. I dont see enough coverage in the media these people are human beings, have had to abandon their homes walk for miles with small children, we cannot forget about them, they need medicines, antibiotics, warm blankets, thermal layers, coats, food I cannot even imagine how they must feel it breaks my heart. All the charities that are helping are a lifeline and give a little hope but still more needs to be done.
Feb 19, 2020 @ 21:23:00
I heard this week that children had died in the cold in Syria and that some families had no money for a tent. I think all the wealthy people in the world should donate to help this crisis. I dont see enough coverage in the media these people are human beings, have had to abandon their homes walk for miles with small children, we cannot forget about them, they need medicines, antibiotics, warm blankets, thermal layers, coats, food I cannot even imagine how they must feel it breaks my heart. The British Red Cross are a lifeline and give a hope in these dark times but still more needs to be done.
Feb 21, 2020 @ 15:36:18
Thank you very much for your concern, which we share, and your kind words about the Red Cross and our partners, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. Anyone who wants to donate can do so through our Syria Crisis Appeal, https://donate.redcross.org.uk/appeal/syria-crisis-appeal.