Winter’s cold brings new misery for millions of Middle East refugees
Muhsin Edo cuts a desperate figure as he huddles under his sagging tent amid the ankle-deep sludge of the Newroz refugee camp. His loose flannel coat, fashioned from a blanket, is caked with mud. His hacking cough reverberates through the interminable patter of rain. There's no kerosene for the heater, and with little dry wood to […]Peter Schwartzstein reports for National Geographic :
Muhsin Edo cuts a desperate figure as he huddles under his sagging tent amid the ankle-deep sludge of the Newroz refugee camp. His loose flannel coat, fashioned from a blanket, is caked with mud. His hacking cough reverberates through the interminable patter of rain. There's no kerosene for the heater, and with little dry wood to fire his mud-brick stove, the condensation dripping from the tarpaulin flaps has made his new home an inhospitable mess. "God knows what the rest of winter will bring," he mumbles, almost tearfully, into his tea.
In hilly, windswept northern Iraq and eastern Syria, the onset of winter is making life even harsher for Edo and other refugees who live in tents and unfinished dwellings. Unseasonably heavy rains have already exacted a cruel toll, and snow has struck some exposed camps.
