- Title: Syrian refugees in Lebanon describe Islamic State violence in Raqqa
- Date: 19th June 2017
- Summary: BEKAA, LEBANON (JUNE 15, 2017) (REUTERS) SYRIAN REFUGEE TENTED SETTLEMENT CAMP SYRIAN REFUGEE CHILD RIDING BICYCLE TENTS OF SYRIAN REFUGEES IN UNOFFICIAL CAMP VARIOUS OF SYRIAN REFUGEE CHILDREN BETWEEN TENTS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE WOMAN FROM RAQQA PROVINCE, EMINA, SAYING: "Daesh was all around us. [Reporter asking in Arabic: How was the living situation there?] Very difficult... at the end, we couldn't even get hold of bread." SYRIAN REFUGEE GIRL WASHING BUCKET NEAR WATER TANK BETWEEN TENTS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE WOMAN FROM RAQQA PROVINCE, EMINA, SAYING: "We couldn't step outside our houses... even to the doctor. Doctors did not stay, they all left... The situation was difficult with everything, and then there were bombings around us." ANIMALS NEAR REFUGEE TENTS IN SETTLEMENT REFUGEE CHILD STANDING OUTSIDE VARIOUS OF REFUGEE WOMAN SITTING ON THE FLOOR AND WORKING WITH HER HANDS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE WOMAN WHO PREFERRED NOT TO BE NAMED FROM RAQQA PROVINCE SAYING: "We have suffered a lot from the violence of Daesh. Our houses were destroyed and there was nothing left for us to eat, we had to come here." VARIOUS OF FIRE HEATING BUCKET BETWEEN TENTS SYRIAN REFUGEE CHILD STANDING BEHIND LAUNDRY LINE SET UP BETWEEN TENTS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE WOMAN WHO PREFERRED NOT TO BE NAMED FROM RAQQA PROVINCE SAYING: "If the security situation does not calm down, we won't go back. Where would we live? How could we eat and drink? Those who lost their houses, can't work or have big families, what would they go back to do?" SYRIAN REFUGEES SITTING IN SHADE MAN RIDING MOTORCYCLE NEXT TO SYRIAN REFUGEE TENTED SETTLEMENT SYRIAN REFUGEE CHILD STANDING NEXT TO WATER TUB SYRIAN REFUGEE WOMEN WALKING WITH SMALL CHILD MARJAYOUN, LEBANON (JUNE 15, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SYRIAN REFUGEE CHILDREN PLAYING OUTSIDE THEIR FAMILY REFUGEE HOUSE WITH BALLS VARIOUS OF SYRIAN REFUGEE WOMAN HANGING CLOTHES TO DRY VARIOUS OF SYRIAN REFUGEE CHILDREN SITTING AND WATCHING TV (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE MAN FROM RAQQA PROVINCE, HASSAN ISMAEL, SAYING: "At the time around when Daesh wanted to enter the area, I left, just before they entered the area. They were doing massacres and catastrophes, I left because of this and left the area." VARIOUS OF ISMAEL'S WIFE AND THEIR DAUGHTER SITTING NEARBY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE MAN FROM RAQQA PROVINCE, HASSAN ISMAEL, SAYING: "Daesh will hopefully get out of the province soon. We are excited for Daesh to leave so we can go back to our country, our relatives and live in peace." SYRIAN REFUGEE CHILDREN, FAMILY OF ISMAEL, SITTING NEARBY ISMAEL AND HIS FAMILY SITTING IN THEIR REFUGEE HOUSE VARIOUS OF ANOTHER SYRIAN REFUGEE FAMILY OF AHMAD SALEH, FROM RAQQA PROVINCE, WASHING DISHES IN OPEN AIR (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE MAN FROM RAQQA PROVINCE, AHMAD SALEH, SAYING: "Honestly, even communication with them (referring to relatives in Raqqa) was very, very hard. It's been five months, now in the sixth month, during which I talked with my relatives once or twice just to reassure each other. And honestly, every time I talk to them, I feel they can't say anything, they say nothing. I feel the fear, I ask them if they need anything and that I am okay... I feel them afraid and can't say anything." SYRIAN REFUGEE CHILDREN, RELATIVES OF SALEH, STANDING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE MAN FROM RAQQA PROVINCE, AHMAD SALEH, SAYING: "If Raqqa is liberated, we would definitely go there for sure. We all missed it, it is our country. Whatever it is, however comfortable we are here... it is definitely better back in one's home." SYRIAN REFUGEE GIRL, DAUGHTER OF SALEH, WATCHING TV VARIOUS OF SALEH AND HIS FAMILY SITTING IN THEIR REFUGEE HOUSE
- Embargoed: 3rd July 2017 15:06
- Keywords: Lebanon Syria refugees Raqqa Islamic State
- Location: BEKAA AND MARJAYOUN, LEBANON
- City: BEKAA AND MARJAYOUN, LEBANON
- Country: Lebanon
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA0016LY2DS7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Syrian refugees who have sought refuge at a tented settlement camp in Lebanon's Bekaa valley recounted their life under Islamic State on Thursday (June 15) saying they had fled their homes in fear of their lives.
Emina, a mother of five, reached Lebanon with her husband and children a month ago, fleeing the Syrian Raqqa countryside where 'Daesh was mostly around us,' she said using the Arabic acronym for IS.
Nearby, in another tent, a Syrian family of fourteen live, after having fled from their village of al-Mansoura, west of Raqqa, more than a year ago.
"We have suffered a lot from the violence of Daesh. Our houses were destroyed and there was nothing left for us to eat, we had to come here," said one female family member clad in black who preferred not to be named.
Earlier this month, U.S.-backed forces captured al-Mansoura from Islamic State as they push towards the militants' Syrian stronghold, but the woman said that the situation had to be calmer before her family would even think about returning.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) began their push into Raqqa the Islamic State's base of operations in Syria, in June 2017.
In South Lebanon, other Syrian families from Raqqa province - who took refuge in small houses in the town of Marjayoun - said they will be coming back home as soon as the Raqqa offensive is over and their villages are liberated from IS.
Ahmad Saleh, who fled with his wife and three children says that many members of his family are still displaced and communicating with them was hard because he could hear the fear in their voices.
Saleh was happy to be feeling safe, living in Lebanon, he said but he expressed how much he missed home back in Raqqa and will "definitely go there, for sure, if Raqqa is liberated". - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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