Homesick Syrian refugees who fled the violence in their home-country to Northern Lebanon began on Monday observing another Islamic holy month of Ramadan away from Syria and longing for better times back at home.
"Ramadan that we used to spend in Syria is very different than the one here, because of the general atmosphere of loving in a tent and because of how much we are suffering to work and find work. Aid here is no longer available as it was before.There is much less help this year. Each family barely receives one box and that is if we do get any. We pray to God that this will be over soon,"said Abdel Karim, from al-Qusayr, a Syrian town that was heavily damaged in 2013 during a government offensive.
Abdel Karim, who has been in Lebanon for four years now, lives with his relatives amongst who are Mahmoud, his wife Umm Ali and their four children.
The big family lives in one tent in one of Akkar's unofficial camps.
All family members said Ramadan served as a bitter reminder to what their lives in Syria looked like compared to the one in Lebanon.
"It is too hot here in the tents, the atmosphere is cooler there and our vegetables used to be fresher. We were comfortable in our home-country, we are not here," said Umm Ali as she was trying to hold back her tears, speaking about Syria.
During the month of Ramadan, believers abstain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk- they eat a pre-dawn meal called 'Suhur' then break their daylight-long fast with 'Iftar', often a large meal with various items starting with dates and ending with a variety of Arabic sweets.
For the family of Mahmoud, this was not the case- even though they seemed thankful for what they had on their fourth Ramadan away from Syria but they all expressed their frustration with their current situation.
"Speaking of Ramadan, we thank God but there is little assistance. There is barely any aid unlike other years and it is so hot. Our living situation was much better in Syria, I was at least being able to work as a blind man unlike here where I count on aid. There is no help,"said Mahmoud.
Since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in 2011, more than 4.2 million people have fled Syria, while some 13.5 million people need protection and help inside Syria, of which more than six million are children, according to the United Nations.
Lebanon has more refugees per head of the population than any country in the world, more than one million refugees live in the country alongside its four million population.
REUTERS
For more details, watch the full report in the video above