Almost one in three IDP households in the northwest live in tents. Of these 84 per cent report that their tent is over one year old; half live in tents that are over two years old. Recent surveys of the affected community, camp coordinators and field humanitarian workers revealed that the winter period and weather-related hazards, such as heavy rainfall, heavy snowfall and flooding are a top shared concern.

From January 18, winter storm weather started to affect IDP sites across north-west Syria, with 162 snowstorm incidents, 117 floods, 14 high-speed incidents and tangentially 68 fires largely caused by exposure to heating stoves. At least 939 tents were completely destroyed rendering their occupants temporarily homeless during the storm, while 9,570 were partially damaged, directly affecting over 57,000 individuals. In response humanitarians are providing critical services. Affected people and camp coordinators raised concerned by the quality, quantity and provision of assistance. This bulletin seeks to understand whether the aid being distributed, specifically the tents, is the type of aid that affected people want.

While humanitarians have long raised concerns about worn or ‘stale’ tents failing to protect families from the elements, there are some tents that - even while brand new - leak when it rains, freeze in the winter and become overheated in the summer. Affected people have made note of these and called for humanitarians to provide alternatives. In the face of humanitarians’ failure to provide the type of aid needed (43 per cent of IDPs in camps are dissatisfied with the aid received), affected people resort to three primary routes: Selling aid at a lower rate than its true cash value to meet their prioritized needs, (2) exchanging aid for other preferred goods or not using the aid in any way.

The informal market valuation of the tents reflects the affected people’ preferences, with the curved tent exceeding $300, while the Jamalon tent sells for $200 and the Ship tent sells for $100. The annex captures affected people’ detailed review of tents as told the Humanitarian Field Officers.

Camp coordinators noted that the Ship tent was a resource they could not recommend.

In the recent survey affected people were unhappy with all tents. In general households living in tents struggle with three primary issues:

Two in three households raised concerns about the lack of space. Notably 6 per cent of households share a tent with another household;

One in two households raised concerns about the lack of privacy. “The lack of privacy in the camps leads to protection risks and is affecting the security and mental health of many;”

Over two in five households raised concerns about the cold and damp conditions.

However, the affected people who completed the Community Voices survey flagged the Ship tent as particularly problematic. They advised that it was too small inside, too hot in summer, too cold and wet in winter, too difficult to fix when damaged, lacking privacy materials or a door and too hard to divide into different spaces. They added that it was not safe to cook there or have a heating source and finally, it was viewed as more likely to collapse. Women raised unique protection concerns. Notably, they cannot change their clothes in the Ship tents due to the transparent material and heightened visibility.

Affected people and camp coordinators have directly called for humanitarians to stop providing the Ship tent. On 23 January 2022 the affected people of Jabal Hersh camp in Eastern Afrin) issued a joint call for humanitarians to no longer provide them Ship tents. They noted that several affected people who were badly affected during the snowstorm were living in Ship tents; in addition to not withstanding the storm they noted that the tents offer no protection from the cold in the winter or the heat in the summer. They requested that humanitarian organizations replace the tents with Jamaloon tents, as these were perceived as ‘more suitable shelters.’ Affected people of nine camps in Raju area issued a statement on 1 February, refusing to receive the Ship type tent from organizations, highlighting that this type of tent is unfit for living, with a high fire risk and inadequate resistance to weather conditions.

However, affected people and camp coordinators recommended the curved tent, the Jamaloon or Pyramid tent and a brick room with plastic sheet roofing. These were considered to be bigger, more sustainable, safer in harsh weather conditions, more dignified, affording more privacy and protection and having a higher ceiling. When asked, affected people provided five key solutions for humanitarians to consider:

Camp coordinators and field humanitarian workers echoed the first two recommendations, but also called on humanitarian leaders to:

In response to communities’ valid concerns about tents, the Humanitarian Liaison Group has agreed to shift towards dignified shelter and living conditions. This means an approach that adapts to the more complex, inter-sectoral challenges of protracted displacement while remaining within the parameters of humanitarian action. The Dignified and Safer Living Conditions approach will enable the provision of safe, adequate and secure shelters, greater levels of physical access, and linkages with key sectors including WASH and livelihoods and other services. This will contribute significantly to better living conditions for vulnerable people in North West Syria.