In Syria, despite the end of the war, people continue to live with the heavy legacy of fourteen years of brutal conflict. Years of aerial attacks and protracted hostilities, including in rural areas around Homs, Hama, Aleppo, and Idlib, have destroyed homes and essential infrastructure, left countless families with no choice but to flee. Many families sought shelters in the mountains, where harsh winters added to their daily struggle. What began as emergency displacement camps turned into a fragile, long-term living area.
If millions of people have been able to return home, many displaced families remain in camps as they often don’t have the financial capacity to rebuild their lives. Their houses in their hometowns have been completely destroyed; basic services are absent and livelihood opportunities are scarce, leaving people dependent on humanitarian assistance that has steadily declined over the past couple of years.
Despite huge needs remaining in Syria, the country has witnessed a decrease in humanitarian funding. MSF urges humanitarian organisations to step up their response, including for people who are still displaced and struggling to survive.
The winter months are particularly dangerous, and without sustained aid, people will continue to face life-threatening conditions.
Across the Harim mountains and around the town of Salqin in Idlib province, more than 50 displacement camps are still sheltering thousands of families, many living in makeshift homes made from salvaged materials or bricks. During winter storms, water seeps into tents, snow piles up between shelters, and families struggle to stay warm. When temperatures drop, heating becomes a necessity, not a comfort. Roofs are often unstable, offering little protection against snow, rain, and freezing cold.
Um Ali, a mother of three, lives in Al Fardan camp:
“When the snow started falling, the plastic-sheet roof collapsed. We were unable to remove the snow because we live in a mountainous area.”
Initially, humanitarian organisations rushed to provide emergency support, but over time, the amount of aid provided has reduced. Today, many displaced families are largely left to manage on their own, with only limited assistance. Makeshift shelters deteriorate with each passing season, and families must gather whatever materials they can find to keep their homes standing.
Abu Musa, a resident of one of the camps, recalls: “It’s been one year and few months since we last received assistance from humanitarian organisations; after the liberation, no one provided any kind of support to people living in the camps here.”
Humanitarian needs are immense and growing. Families lack access to adequate food, healthcare, winter clothing, blankets, and medicines. Some camps have small clinics, but supplies are limited, and services are paid, putting essential care out of reach for many.
In Idlib governorate, Médecins Sans Frontières/ Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has been providing support to displaced families. Between December and February, MSF teams have distributed heating materials (around 600 tons of bering) and plastic sheets to 2,000 families across 21 camps. A further 1,400 mattresses, 4,200 blankets, and hygiene and cooking kits have been distributed to 700 families in camps near Salqin and in the Harim mountains, and 150 families received tents in Armanaz, in rural Idlib. These distributions aim to help families endure the harsh winter months and reduce immediate risks linked to exposure to the cold. Yet the gap between needs and assistance remains enormous.
In Daraa and Rural Damascus governorates, in southern Syria, MSF distributed around 3,000 heaters, plus mattresses and blankets, between November and February, to support displaced families who remain exposed to extreme weather, unsafe living conditions, and prolonged uncertainty. In Qamishli and Derik/Al-Malikiyah, northeast Syria, MSF responded to the needs of recently displaced people, who were forced to leave their homes in Tabqa, Raqqa and Al-Hassakeh under relentless rain and cold temperatures.
The story of Syria’s displaced people is a reminder that the war may have faded from headlines, but its human consequences remain urgent and unresolved.
