シリア避難民キャンプに簡易プール 大喜びの子どもたち

【シリアＡＦＰ＝時事】シリア北部アレッポの辺境にある避難民キャンプに、組み立て式の簡易プールがボランティアにより設置された。うだるような暑さの中、キャンプで暮らす子どもたちは、水しぶきをあげながらプールを楽しんだ。（写真はＮＧＯの「Ｓｍｉｌｅ Ｙｏｕｎｉｔｅｄ」が設置した組み立て式の簡易プールで遊ぶ避難民の子どもたち）
　簡易プールはＮＧＯの「Ｓｍｉｌｅ Ｙｏｕｎｉｔｅｄ」のボランティアにより三つ設置された。戦争と貧困によって心に傷を負った少年少女たちにとって、貴重な娯楽の時間となった。
　避難民キャンプで暮らし、１５人の孫がいるという女性は「この子たちは一度もプールを見たことがないし、プールというものを知らない。貧困にあえいでいて、こういう簡易プールでさえ泳いだこともない。ここの子どもたちは強い日差しの下、空腹や喉の渇きに耐えながらテントで暮らしてきた」と話した。
　簡易プールを設置したＮＧＯのメンバーは「この取り組みは子どもたちに暑さをしのいでもらおうというもの。水辺の行楽地をキャンプ内に持ち込む、というアイデアだった。おそらくここの子どもたちはリゾートやプールに遊びに行くことすら知らないだろうから、キャンプにプールを届けたいと思った。簡易プールを設置して、水を満杯に入れ、子どもたちが泳げるようにした」と経緯を説明した。
　２０１１年の反政府デモに端を発したシリアの内戦では、これまでに５０万人以上が死亡し、数百万人が避難を余儀なくされている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/08/27-18:13）

In a run-down north Syria camp, children displaced by the country's 13-year war played and splashed in volunteer-run mobile swimming pools that provided much-needed relief from the sweltering summer heat.
Volunteers from the Smile Younited charity barely had any time to finish setting up the three pools in a busy square surrounded by tents before children of all ages jumped in, dancing along to songs blasted on loudspeakers.
The pools at Kafr Naseh camp, in the Aleppo countryside, provided rare entertainment to young boys and girls whose lives have been scarred by war and poverty.
Mohammad Ezzedine, 38, said he was thrilled to see his five children so happy.
I hope they will come back every week... because it's hot and the kids need to distract themselves and have fun because they live under pressure inside a confined camp, he said.
The children had never been to a pool before. The most we could do was put them in a plastic tub and fill it with water when it is available to cool down in the summer, Ezzedine added.
More than five million people, most of them displaced, live in areas outside government control in Syria's north and northwest, the UN says, and many rely on aid to survive.
As the conflict drags on, a lack of international funding has severely undercut the provision of basic services including water, waste disposal and sanitation in displacement camps outside government control in Syria's north and northwest.
- 'Lifeline' -
Residents of Kafr Naseh camp say they have not had access to free, clean water in a year and a half.
The old and the young want water because it is a lifeline... The camps are thirsty, said 65-year-old Habiba Hamdush, who has been living in the camp for six years.
Children in the camp are deprived of everything... Some of them have never seen a pool before and don't even know how to swim, she said.
But now, they can enjoy the pools, which are a source of happiness and relief from the heat, she said as she watched 15 of her grandchildren splash about.
Many of them were very young when her family was displaced from neighbouring Idlib province and grew up in the camp thirsty, hungry, living in tents and exposed to the sun, she said.
Syria's civil war has killed more than 500,000 people and displaced millions since it began in 2011 with the repression of anti-government protests.
When the children are done swimming, they sit around plastic tables sipping juice and eating fruit -- food provided by the charity.
They don't know what a trip to the pool is, so we brought the pool to them, said Ayman Abu Taym, 30, who heads the team of volunteers.
Children are not just in need of aid, they also need activities like playing and swimming, he added.