The suffering of humanity in Yarmouk grows worse each day. Where is the world?Since the war in Syria started a few years ago, the people of Yarmouk have been suffering tremendously.
Hundreds of people in Yarmouk are suffering from malnutrition, disease, and severe psychological distress. There are reports from the United Nations that more than two-hundred ave starved to death since the start of the war.
In this man-made catastrophe there has been no running water since September of last year, and all drinking water that is available is contaminated, further spurring disease. But when the alternative is death from dehydration, the refugees will take their chances on the contaminated water.
Residents have gone months without electricity, and most people have been barely surviving on 400 calories a day.
This is the reality for the innocent civilians of Yarmouk Palestine refugee camp.
I thought that the suffering in Yarmouk couldn’t get any worse. I was mistaken.
Last week, Daesh brought their reign of terror to the Palestinians when Yarmouk was seized. As soon as Daesh entered the camp, they began burning Palestinian flags and beheaded anyone who dared to not join them. They looted the camp and placed snipers throughout, on top of buildings so that no one knows where they are. Families face a terrible choice: go out and get food at risk of being shot/beheaded/bombed or remain in war-ravaged homes and starve.
A few thousand refugees fled the camp to become displaced again. The residents of the camp who didn’t get to flee, or didn’t have anywhere to flee to, are stuck facing terrible odds. These innocent people are terrified and trapped between Daesh’s swords and Assad’s bombs falling from above with no water, food, or medical aid.
Yarmouk is caught in the ninth circle of Hell, betrayed completely by the entire world.
The international community s letting Yarmouk fall apart. Collective humanity has failed–utterly and completely. The humanitarian crisis in Yarmouk has been systematically ignored for the last 4 years and that trend is continuing to hold.
There are 3,500 children suffering in Yarmouk right now. The children are perpetually starving and have never known a life that was not enveloped in war. This is the time to speak out and stop this before it becomes a massacre.
The international community has a responsibility to everyone in Yarmouk. This is a crisis that goes beyond race or religion, Yarmouk needs to be defended by everyone. This is about human beings, with faces and names and memories who have loved and have been loved themselves. They deserves lives that go beyond despair.
If something does not change soon, Yarmouk will be turned into a mass grave. We cannot allow tens of thousands of people to turn into a mere memory. The blood of the innocents will be on the hands of all who have turned a blind eye to this horrific living nightmare.
Camila Benson is the personal assistant to the Director of Public Outreach and Engagement for the International Middle East Media Center.
She has been advocating for the rights of Palestinians in the oPt and abroad for several years. You can follow her on Twitter @1camilabenson
