Abdul Fattah al-Khaled, a 26-year-old man from Tadmur city in the eastern suburbs of Homs governorate who had been living in al-Rukban Camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) on the Syrian-Jordanian borders in the eastern suburbs of Homs governorate and working as a humanitarian activist and principal of the camp’s al-Hay al-Tadmuri School, died on July 18, 2023, due to the camp’s lack of healthcare facilities. Abdul Fattah suffered a myocardial infraction (heart attack) one year ago, and was unable to obtain any type of medical assessment of his condition, or to travel to another area for treatment, eventually leading to his death after experiencing increasing difficulties with breathing and suffering chest pains.
It should be noted that the healthcare situation in al-Rukban Camp is currently at its worst level since 2020 when Jordan decided to shut down the only medical point in the camp amid the coronavirus pandemic. Currently, the camp has two rudimentary medical clinics, namely the Sham Medical Clinic and Tadmur Medical Clinic, which are run by a number of nurses and individuals with practical First Aid experience, although no doctors are present at either facility. Naturally, there is no ability to perform any tests or surgeries in the camp, which forces those in need of treatment to go to regime-held areas for it after paying large sums of money that can amount to $1,500 for one person, in order to ensure their safety in these areas.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) has, on numerous occasions, shed light on the crippling siege that has been imposed on the camp by Syrian regime forces for years, with these forces preventing anyone from entering or leaving the camp, in addition to reporting on the inhumane conditions there.
SNHR urges international relief groups to act urgently to meet the basic needs of IDPs in camps, especially in al-Rukban IDPs camp.
