Azaz – Dayan Junpaz

The residents of the village of Ma’arin, part of the city of Azaz in northern Aleppo, have been suffering from a shortage of drinking water for years, which worsens every summer due to the interruption of the main water supply, with no solution in sight.

The village’s approximately 500 families are forced to rely on unregulated and expensive water tankers, exacerbating their daily hardship amid difficult economic conditions, according to villagers interviewed. Enab Baladi.

High costs

Villager Hannan Ali relies on water tanks filled from springs in the village and neighboring villages. He said: Enab Baladi They said this was their only way to quench the thirst of the villagers and noted that the price for doing so was a heavy burden.

Ali added that he pays 220 Turkish lira ($6.50) for a 10-barrel tanker and has to buy two tankers a month to meet his and his wife’s needs.

His irregular income from seasonal work in agriculture is not enough to cover his needs, as his daily wage fluctuates between 75 and 100 Turkish lira and he says he has no consistency in this work.

Tanker prices do not correspond to the income level of most workers in northern Syria. The daily wage of a worker does not exceed 100 Turkish lira, while the extreme poverty line is about 9,000 Turkish lira per month.

No regulation or solutions

The tankers are not subject to health or price regulations, allowing their owners to control prices, especially in summer when demand increases.

Yousef Khalo, another villager, said Enab Baladi that due to a lack of regulation, the owners of the tankers can set prices as they please, forcing citizens to pay ever higher amounts for their water.

He added that often, especially when he unexpectedly runs out of water in the evening, he is forced to pay more than usual, sometimes up to 250 Turkish lira per tanker, because tanker owners take advantage of the need.

Khalo called on relevant authorities and humanitarian organizations to find practical solutions, such as digging wells in the village or finding alternative water sources at reasonable costs, to reduce the financial burden on residents and ensure continuity of water supply at affordable prices.

Village chief Ali Kousa said Enab Baladi that the 500 families have been suffering from water outages for almost ten years.

He added that he and the village elders had approached the Azaz local council demanding water for their village and had also asked several local organizations without receiving any response or concrete solutions.

Several villages and towns around Aleppo are experiencing severe shortages of basic services, including water.

Many villages and towns in rural Aleppo, including Azaz, are struggling to obtain a consistent supply of drinking water as they rely on existing artesian wells before they begin pumping water from Lake Midanki near Afrin. This happened after the Turkish military and the Syrian National Army gained control of the Afrin area during Operation Olive Branch, launched by Turkish forces against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on January 20, 2018.

According to the United Nations, 5.1 million people live in northwest Syria. 4.2 million of them are dependent on aid, 3.4 million are suffering from food shortages, 3.4 million are internally displaced and 2 million live in camps. Local statistics put the number at 5.5 to 6 million people.