Emad Ahmed's family is running out of food, just one week after the UN delivered aid to them and more than 50,000 other Syrian refugees in the Rukban camp on the border with Jordan.
The UN delivery of food, sanitation, hygiene and health supplies to the camp, whose residents are trapped inside an area under rebel control, came after months of negotiations with the Syrian regime. The camp had received no aid since January.
"The situation inside the camp is still devastating even after the delivery of relief; we are running out of supplies," Mr Ahmed told The National.
He said the supplies received were only enough for six days for a family of five.
Aid workers who entered the camp described the conditions as dire, with many people surviving on just one meal a day.
“Despite the successful completion of this convoy and the delivery of essential food and non-food items, the situation for the people of Rukban remains dire and remains unsustainable,” Ali Al Zatari, the UN humanitarian co-ordinator in Syria said on Sunday.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent also took part in the aid delivery and vaccinated 10,000 children against measles, polio and other diseases.
But Mr Ahmed said people in the camp were on the brink of starvation and needed regular deliveries of aid. "This shipment is seen as a way to keep us live, just for the time being."
Desperate residents were looking for ways to get out of Rukban, he said.
“Both the Jordanian and Syrian governments have closed ways in and out of the camp. We have nowhere to go, we are literally dying inside.”
The camp lies within a 55-kilometre so-called de-confliction zone set up by the Pentagon with the aim of blocking Iranian supply routes through area into Syria, and preventing pro-regime forces from operating there.
Jordan suspects the camp to be infiltrated by ISIS sleeper cells and closed its border crossing after a deadly attack there by the extremists in 2016.
Last Thursday, Jordan said it was in talks with the US and Russia to empty the camp, seen as a move to defuse security tensions.
Jordan's foreign ministry said the kingdom backed a Russian plan to arrange the voluntary return of Rukban resident to their homes in areas of eastern Syria that have been recaptured from ISIS by Syrian government forces.
"Jordanian-US-Russian talks have begun with the aim of finding a fundamental solution to Rukban by ensuring the right conditions of their voluntary return to their cities and towns," Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Qatarneh said.
Yet, Mr Ahmed says that many residents are not ready to go back to homes in state-held areas for fear of being conscripted into the Syrian army.
__________
Read more:
First aid since January reaches displaced Syrians near Jordan border: UN
Displaced Syrians trapped in Al Rukban border camp are facing starvation
A critical moment to ensure more lives are not needlessly lost
Syrian regime militias clash in Aleppo
__________
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
A QUIET PLACE
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Rating: 4/5
Switching sides
Mahika Gaur is the latest Dubai-raised athlete to attain top honours with another country.
Velimir Stjepanovic (Serbia, swimming)
Born in Abu Dhabi and raised in Dubai, he finished sixth in the final of the 2012 Olympic Games in London in the 200m butterfly final.
Jonny Macdonald (Scotland, rugby union)
Brought up in Abu Dhabi and represented the region in international rugby. When the Arabian Gulf team was broken up into its constituent nations, he opted to play for Scotland instead, and went to the Hong Kong Sevens.
Sophie Shams (England, rugby union)
The daughter of an English mother and Emirati father, Shams excelled at rugby in Dubai, then after attending university in the UK played for England at sevens.
Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
The five types of long-term residential visas
Obed Suhail of ServiceMarket, an online home services marketplace, outlines the five types of long-term residential visas:
Investors:
A 10-year residency visa can be obtained by investors who invest Dh10 million, out of which 60 per cent should not be in real estate. It can be a public investment through a deposit or in a business. Those who invest Dh5 million or more in property are eligible for a five-year residency visa. The invested amount should be completely owned by the investors, not loaned, and retained for at least three years.
Entrepreneurs:
A five-year multiple entry visa is available to entrepreneurs with a previous project worth Dh0.5m or those with the approval of an accredited business incubator in the UAE.
Specialists
Expats with specialised talents, including doctors, specialists, scientists, inventors, and creative individuals working in the field of culture and art are eligible for a 10-year visa, given that they have a valid employment contract in one of these fields in the country.
Outstanding students:
A five-year visa will be granted to outstanding students who have a grade of 95 per cent or higher in a secondary school, or those who graduate with a GPA of 3.75 from a university.
Retirees:
Expats who are at least 55 years old can obtain a five-year retirement visa if they invest Dh2m in property, have savings of Dh1m or more, or have a monthly income of at least Dh20,000.
Specs: 2024 McLaren Artura Spider
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 and electric motor
Max power: 700hp at 7,500rpm
Max torque: 720Nm at 2,250rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
0-100km/h: 3.0sec
Top speed: 330kph
Price: From Dh1.14 million ($311,000)
On sale: Now
Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
Race card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 (PA) US$100,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
7.05pm: Meydan Classic Listed (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,600m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Nad Al Sheba Trophy Group 2 (TB) $300,000 (T) 2,810m
9.25pm: Curlin Stakes Listed (TB) $175,000 (D) 2,000m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
10.35pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
The National selections
6.30pm: Shahm, 7.05pm: Well Of Wisdom, 7.40pm: Lucius Tiberius, 8.15pm: Captain Von Trapp, 8.50pm: Secret Advisor, 9.25pm: George Villiers, 10pm: American Graffiti, 10.35pm: On The Warpath
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Almouneer
Started: 2017
Founders: Dr Noha Khater and Rania Kadry
Based: Egypt
Number of staff: 120
Investment: Bootstrapped, with support from Insead and Egyptian government, seed round of
$3.6 million led by Global Ventures
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.