「どこへ逃げれば…」　内戦激化のシリア北部、さまよう家族

【マ―ラトミスリンＡＦＰ＝時事】シリア北部イドリブ県で、政府軍とロシア軍の空爆を逃れたシリア人女性ゴスーンさん（38）の一家は、何日も車でさまよっている。長時間の運転でへとへとだが、もはやどこへ行けばいいのかも分からない。（写真はシリア・イドリブ県マーラトミスリン郊外で車を運転するゴスーンさんと家族）
「２晩連続で車中泊だった。今夜もそうなりそうだ」とゴスーンさん。路肩に止めた車に寄りかかった彼女の隣で、夫がまだ赤ん坊の娘をあやしている。幼い息子は冬物のコートを着せられ、ビスケットの箱をつかんでいた。「快適とはいかないけれど、寝泊まりできる車があって本当に良かった」
　ロシアに支援されたシリア政府軍は２か月前から、反体制派の最後の拠点であるイドリブ県への攻勢を強化。人口約３００万人の県内では、５８万人を超える住民が自宅を追われ、避難生活を余儀なくされている。
　人々は家財道具を車に積み、家族総出で北へと逃げつつ、冬を乗り越えられる避難場所を探している。だが、９年に及ぶシリア内戦で難民が殺到したトルコは国境を封鎖しており、比較的安全とされる国境地帯で寒さをしのぐ場所を見つけるのは困難だ。
　ゴスーンさんは「避難民キャンプに行ったが、もう空きがなかった」「貸家も探したが、家賃が高すぎた」と語った。
　現地のＡＦＰ記者によれば、イドリブ県北部の農村部では最近の避難民の大量流入を受け、アパート１部屋の１か月当たりの賃料が約１５０ドル（約１万６０００円）相当から最高３５０ドル（約３万８０００円）相当まで高騰した。しかも、借りられる部屋はほんのわずかしかない。

■家賃高騰で追い出される家族も
　ゴスーンさん一家が取材に応じたマーラトミスリン郊外には、新設された避難民キャンプがあるが、新しいテントは既にいっぱいだ。定員３５０家族のこのキャンプには現在、８００家族がひしめき合い、ぬかるんだ地面に直接じゅうたんやマットレスを敷いて暮らしている。人々の流入は今もとめどなく、記者は、テントの数が足りずに木の下で２晩を過ごした家族にも出会った。
　一方、家賃高騰の影響でイドリブ県北部の自宅を手放さざるを得なかった家族もいる。アラーさん（３８）一家は、前線からたった数キロしか離れていない県都イドリブの市街地に引っ越してきた。
　妻と５人の子ども、両親、兄弟と暮らす新居は、建設途中で放置され基礎工事が終わっただけのコンクリートの建物で、窓もドアもない。それでも、アラーさんは「他よりましだ。少なくとも屋根がある」と話した。
　ただ、迫りくるイドリブ市への攻撃にはおびえている。「頭上の屋根が吹き飛ばされるなら、泥にまみれた生活のほうがいいかもしれない」とアラーさん。「神よ守りたまえ」と祈りつつ、「私たちはもう疲れてしまった」と語った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/02/12-12:54）

Exhausted from days of driving in search of shelter in northwest Syria, 38-year-old Ghossoon has no idea where her family will go after fleeing regime and Russian bombardment.
Thank God we have this car to sleep in, even if it's not comfortable, she said, after parking the grey people-carrier by the side of the road.
We've spent two nights in it so far, she said, sitting on a blanket and leaning back against the vehicle in Maaret Misrin, a town in Idlib province.
This will be the third night. We'll stay in it again because we can't find anywhere else to go, she added.
By her side, Ghossoon's husband crouches with their baby daughter in his arms, while their young son, who is wrapped up in a winter coat, clutches a packet of plain biscuits.
Russia-backed regime forces have pounded Syria's last major rebel bastion over the past two months, forcing more than 580,000 people from their homes and onto the roads.
In the jihadist-ruled region of some three million people, entire families have headed north in cars piled high with blankets, chairs and pans as they seek to survive the winter.
But many are struggling to find protection from the cold along the Turkish border, which was closed by Ankara in response to waves of displacement earlier in Syria's nine-year civil war.
- 'More people than homes' -
Ghossoon and her husband have stuffed warm blankets and pillows in the back of their car, while they have strapped large plastic woven mats to the roof.
We went to the camps, but there wasn't any space there, Ghossoon said.
We looked for a home but the rent was really expensive. Where am I supposed to find the money?
The average monthly rent in Idlib's northern countryside was around $150 per apartment before the latest wave of displacement; the few available are now priced as high as $350, according to an AFP correspondent.
On Wednesday, eight organisations called for an immediate ceasefire, describing the situation as a humanitarian catastrophe.
Bahia Zrikem from Humanity Inclusion said there are simply more people than (there are) homes available.
Many of those who have fled are sleeping in their cars or camping by the side of the road.
In a newly-established camp on the edge of Maaret Misrin, tents made available for newcomers are already packed.
Entire families are sleeping on the muddy floor, with carpets, mattresses, and household appliances stacked around them, an AFP correspondent said.
Designed to host 350 families, the camp is now brimming with more than 800, and people keep flooding in.
Mustafa Haj Ahmad arrived in the camp only days ago along with 30 relatives, including his wife and seven children.
The 40-year-old said he fled fighting near his hometown of Sarmin carrying nothing but clothes.
When he arrived in the camp, he couldn't find a tent for his family.
We have been sleeping under trees for the past two days, he told AFP.
- 'Roof over our heads' -
Even though Mustafa can't afford to rent a house closer to the Turkish border, he said he is determined to head there.
We will sleep in the olive groves, I don't know what else we can do.
According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, displacement camps are at five times their capacity and rental prices have skyrocketed in towns in Syria's northwest.
This has forced Alaa Aboud, 38, to relocate his family from northern Idlib to the provincial capital, only a few kilometres away from the frontline.
He now lives with his wife, five children, his two parents and his brother in an unfinished building in Idlib city.
The rudimentary cinderblock home doesn't have windows or doors installed.
The floors don't have tiles and the walls need painting.
A carpet and cushions are laid out on the floor.
This place is better than others, at least we have a roof over our heads, Alaa said.
But if the roof is destroyed over us, then it would be better to live in the mud, he added, fearing attacks on Idlib city.
Preparing for an eventual offensive on the city itself, he said he is looking for a plot of land further north, where he can pitch a tent.
But he said he hopes he won't need it.
May God spare us, he said.
We are tired.