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Arab News
39 minutes ago
- General
- Arab News
KSrelief extends aid to Syria, Somalia, Sudan
RIYADH: The Saudi aid agency KSrelief continues to make a significant global impact, providing critical assistance to some of the world's most vulnerable communities. The organization has distributed 2,290 food baskets and hygiene kits in Sarmada in the Idlib Governorate of the Syrian Arab Republic, benefiting 6,870 individuals. This effort is part of the second phase of a project to ease the suffering of Syrian families. KSrelief in Somalia has distributed 1,200 food baskets to the neediest families in the Baidoa district in Bay region, assisting 7,200 people and supporting food security for vulnerable groups. KSrelief in Sudan has distributed 825 food baskets to the most needy families in Blue Nile State, helping 3,986 people. This aid forms part of Saudi Arabia's broader humanitarian efforts to support the Sudanese population amid the ongoing crisis in the country. Since its launch in May 2015, KSrelief has implemented 3,438 projects worth more than $7.9 billion across 107 countries, in partnership with more than 318 organizations.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
A turtle rescue, mud wrestlers and a Syrian rose garden: photos of the day
People at work in a rose garden. Growing roses provides financial opportunities for farmers and displaced people in the rural outskirts of Idlib, Damascus and other cities Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images Smoke rises from the Kiskatinaw River wildfire, which has prompted evacuation orders Photograph: BC Wildfire/Reuters Violet Chachki performs at the Betsey Johnson and the Elton John Aids Foundation Pride party at the Hole Gallery Photograph:for Betsey Johnson Swans and their cygnets in Hyde Park in central London Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images Manet's painting At the Cafe (1878, left) on display with Corner of a Cafe-Concert (1878-80) at the National Gallery. They originally formed part of a larger composition known as Reichshoffen, the name of a Parisian brasserie and cafe-concert Photograph: James Manning/PA Edmonton Oilers superfan Dale Steil wears face paint and lights before game five of the Western Conference finals in the NHL Stanley Cup ice hockey playoffs Photograph: Gareth Patterson/AP Young mud wrestlers rest as they watch others train at the Shree Shahu Vijayi Gangavesh Talim, a residential gymnasium Photograph: Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty Images Four tugs and a pusher boat transport the first of eight tunnel sections for the Scheldt tunnel from the construction dock in Zeebrugge to Antwerp. Each section is 160 metres long and weights 60,000 tonnes Photograph: Shutterstock People vote at a polling station during the second day of early voting in the presidential election Photograph: Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images Tourists visit Badwater Basin as an extreme heat warning is issued in Death Valley national park Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images A moth emerges from a cocoon hanging from a clothesline in the gardens of the Natural History Museum Photograph: Marco Ugarte/AP A child stands next to sacrificial camels at the camel market ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha Photograph: Mohamed Hossam/EPA Seagulls hunt pearl mullet during their annual migration from Lake Van Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images Rescuers search for victims after the collapse of a natural stone quarry in the Cirebon district Photograph: Okri Riyana/AP A mature loggerhead sea turtle is hoisted into truck for observation after being caught in fishing gear. Since 1998, a rescue centre in Watamu on the Indian Ocean has assessed, tagged and released more than 24,000 turtles Photograph: Fredrik Lerneryd/AFP/Getty Images Allah Bakhsh, a 55-year-old farmer living by the Chenab River, tends to his early morning chores at his home Photograph: Adrees Latif/Reuters Newly recruited soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces in a 10-hour 40km hike near the Dead Sea Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock Palestinians at the site of an overnight Israeli strike on Jabaliya, north of Gaza City Photograph: Bashar Taleb/AFP/Getty Images
Irish Times
3 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Exhibitions open in Damascus remembering suffering and sacrifice under Syrian regime
Nearly six months after the fall of Bashar al-Assad 's regime, a wave of exhibitions and events have been taking place in Damascus to pay tribute to the suffering and sacrifices that led to today's Syria. A new Syrian government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa was sworn in in March, almost four months after the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham deposed Assad and ended 50 years of rule by his family. The Revolutionary Banners of Kafranbel exhibition opened at the central Hijaz train station on Sunday, and will run until June 3rd. Kafranbel, a town in the Idlib governorate, was branded the 'conscience of the revolution' that led to Assad's overthrow. Residents often shared messages on banners there, sometimes in English, drawing international attention to Syria through political commentary and occasionally humour, and references to current affairs and news developments elsewhere. READ MORE One of those involved in creating and preserving the banners was Maan Kkaydo (50), who said he lived, in effect, under siege from 2011 until December last year, trapped between Turkey and the Syrian regime. [ 'KatKot' chocolate and 'Ugarit Cola': What life in Syria was like under US sanctions Opens in new window ] Protecting the banners all this time was a collective effort, he said. 'We were trying to protect them even though it was hard to protect our own children.' Kkaydo said being able to exhibit the banners in Damascus was 'incredible, indescribable. I lost hope and then I got it, [it is] a dream.' He said it was 'difficult to reach internal society' before because they lived under decades of 'dictators and oppression'. His own father was a political detainee multiple times, he said, during which period everyone would avoid the family, not even say 'happy Eid', because they were frightened to be associated with them. The opening came a week after hundreds of people turned up for the launch of another new exhibition, organised by the archival project Creative Memory of the Syrian Revolution, at the Damascus National Museum. It is being held to honour detainees and disappeared people, and will run until June 6th. The exhibition includes sections on the infamous Sednaya Prison , chemical weapons attacks and the Caesar photographs, through which a military defector revealed evidence of mass torture and killings. Art displayed in Damascus National Museum at an exhibition related to detainees and missing people. The exhibition includes sections on the infamous Sednaya Prison,; chemical weapons attacks; and the Caesar photographs, in which a military defector revealed evidence of mass torture and killings. The exhibition was supported by the Syrian Ministry of Culture. Speaking about its opening, culture minister Mohammad Yassin Saleh said, according to local media: 'We inaugurate this exhibition alongside the issuance of the presidential decree establishing the National Commission for the Missing. [ Celebrations in Damascus after Donald Trump's sudden announcement of end to sanctions on Syria Opens in new window ] 'Culture can only be built upon truth, and dignity is safeguarded only by granting the disappeared their rightful recognition. Truth must not be hidden as its victims were hidden. Our responsibility today is to do everything in our power to uncover it.' Yara Ghanem (23) took the opportunity to visit the museum for the first time in her life. She said the exhibition made her feel hope for the future but also pain, which it was impossible to process before because of the level of terror. Yara Ghanem (23) visited Damascus National Museum for the first time for an exhibit related to detainees and missing people. 'My entire life in Syria, under the dictatorship, I haven't had the chance to really think of the detainees ... So this is why I came here, because I believe that the least we can do is come here to learn more about them. Other people, they might not understand how hard it is, the fear that we were living under and just not being able to even educate ourselves on their cause.' She said the experience 'combines both pain and hope, seeing all these people finally being able to come and see ... the paintings that tell the stories of these detainees. It gives us both hope and allows us to feel the pain that we weren't able to feel.' She said she wanted the Syrian people to exist as one now, but added that they 'should definitely keep criticising the government, not out of hate, but so we can build the country that we've been dreaming of'.
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Photos: Syrians return to villages destroyed by war
Aref Shamtan, 73, chose to erect a tent near his decimated home in northwest Syria instead of remaining in a displacement camp following the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad. 'I feel good here, even among the rubble,' Shamtan said, sipping tea at the tent near his field. Upon returning with his son after al-Assad was toppled in December, Shamtan discovered his village of al-Hawash, situated amid farmland in central Hama province, severely damaged. His house had lost its roof and suffered cracked walls. Nevertheless, 'living in the rubble is better than living in the camps' near the Turkish border, where he had resided since fleeing the conflict in 2011, Shamtan explained. Since al-Assad's downfall after nearly 14 years of war, the United Nations' International Organization for Migration reports that 1.87 million Syrians who were refugees abroad or internally displaced have returned to their places of origin. The IOM identifies the 'lack of economic opportunities and essential services' as the greatest challenge facing returnees. Unable to afford rebuilding, Shamtan decided approximately two months ago to leave the camp with his family and young grandchildren, and has begun planting wheat on his land. Al-Hawash had been under al-Assad's control and bordered front lines with neighbouring Idlib province, which became a stronghold for opposition groups, particularly Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the opposition fighters that spearheaded the offensive that toppled the former president. 'We cannot stay in the camps,' Shamtan maintained, even though 'the village is all destroyed … and life is non-existent,' lacking fundamental services and infrastructure. 'We decided … to live here until things improve. We are waiting for organisations and the state to help us,' he added. 'Life is tough.' Local official Abdel Ghafour al-Khatib, 72, has also returned after escaping in 2019 with his wife and children to a camp near the border. 'I just wanted to get home. I was overjoyed … I returned and pitched a worn-out tent. Living in my village is the important thing,' he stated. 'Everyone wants to return,' he noted. However, many cannot afford transportation in a country where 90 percent of the population lives in poverty. 'There is nothing here – no schools, no health clinics, no water and no electricity,' al-Khatib said while sitting on the ground in his tent near what remains of his home. The conflict, which erupted in 2011 following al-Assad's brutal suppression of antigovernment protests, killed more than 500,000 people and displaced half of Syria's pre-war population either internally or abroad, with many seeking refuge in Idlib province. According to the International Organization for Migration, more than six million people remain internally displaced.
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Displaced Syrians Leave Camps to Pitch Tents near Destroyed Homes
Aref Shamtan, 73, preferred to pitch a tent near his destroyed home in northwest Syria rather than stay in a camp for the displaced following longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad's ouster. "I feel good here, even among the rubble," Shamtan said, sipping tea at the tent near his field. When he and his son returned after Assad's December 8 overthrow, Shamtan found his village of Al-Hawash, nestled among farmland in central Hama province, badly damaged. The roof of their house was gone and its walls were cracked. But "living in the rubble is better than living in the camps" near the border with Türkiye, where he had been since 2011 after fleeing the fighting, Shamtan said. Since the opposition factions ousted Assad after nearly 14 years of war, 1.87 million Syrians who were refugees abroad or internally displaced have returned to their areas of origin, the United Nations' International Organization for Migration says. The IOM says the "lack of economic opportunities and essential services pose the greatest challenge" for those returning home. Shamtan, who cannot afford to rebuild, decided around two months ago to leave the camp with his family and young grandchildren, and has started planting his farmland with wheat, said AFP. Al-Hawash had been controlled by Assad's forces and was along the front lines with neighboring Idlib province, which became a bastion for opposition factions, particularly Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group that led the offensive that toppled Assad. 'Nothing here' "We can't stay in the camps," Shamtan insisted, even if "the village is all destroyed... and life is non-existent", lacking basic services and infrastructure. "We decided... to live here until things improve. We are waiting for organizations and the state to help us," he said. "Life is tough." Local official Abdel Ghafour al-Khatib, 72, has also returned after fleeing in 2019 with his wife and children for a camp near the border. "I just wanted to get home. I was overjoyed... I returned and pitched a worn-out tent. Living in my village is the important thing," he said. "Everyone wants to return," he said. But many cannot even afford the transport to do so in a country where 90 percent of people live in poverty. "There is nothing here -- no schools, no health clinics, no water and no electricity," Khatib said, sitting on the ground in the tent near the remains of his home. The war, which erupted in 2011 after Assad's brutal repression of anti-government protests, killed more than 500,000 people and displaced half of the pre-war population internally or abroad, with many fleeing to Idlib province. More than six million people remain internally displaced, according to the IOM. With the recent lifting of Western sanctions, Syria's new authorities hope for international support to launch reconstruction, which the UN estimates could cost more than $400 billion. IOM chief Amy Pope said on Monday that "the lifting of sanctions sends a powerful message of hope to millions of displaced Syrians", cautioning, however, that "hope must be matched with concrete support". 'No home' After being repeatedly displaced, Souad Othman, 47, returned with her three daughters and son to Al-Hawash around a week ago. "Everything has changed -- the homes are damaged and there is nothing left in their place," said Othman, whose husband died during the war. The roof of her home has collapsed and its walls are cracked, but she still chose to return, eking out a living through manual labor. A small bed sits out in the open, protected only by blankets on a clothesline, with a makeshift cooking area set up on the rubble. She said she borrowed $80 to pay for a battery for two solar panels. "There are snakes and insects here. We can't live without light during the night," she said. AFP aerial footage of camps in northwest Syria showed some former structures empty of residents. Jalal al-Omar, 37, who is responsible for part of a camp near the village of Qah in Idlib province, said around 100 families had left for his home village of Treimsa in the Hama region. But around 700 other families cannot afford to return, he said, also noting the lack of infrastructure in Treimsa, where people have to travel miles just to buy bread. "People don't want to stay in the camps, they want to return to their villages. But the lack of essential services... prevents their return," he said. "I myself have no home. I'm waiting... for a place to shelter in the village," he added.
