Syrian Refugees Struggle to Buy Food as Aid Dwindles

Perwin Shamsaddeen Ali, a Syrian refugee living in a tent camp in northern Iraq, has been reduced to cooking one meal a day for her family of four
Syrian Refugees Struggle to Buy Food as Aid Dwindles
A Kurdish Syrian woman walks with her child past the ruins of the town of Kobani, also known as Ain al-Arab, on March 25, 2015. Yasin Akgul/AFP/Getty Images
The Associated Press
Updated:

KAWERGOSK CAMP, Iraq—Perwin Shamsaddeen Ali, a Syrian refugee living in a tent camp in northern Iraq, has been reduced to cooking one meal a day for her family of four.

“I cook at 11 o'clock and we eat the leftovers in the evening. Why? Because we have no more food, that’s why,” the 28-year-old mother of two said as her sons tossed a balloon outside their tent. “Today I gave the kids some noodles, that’s all. That’s all we had today.”

As aid agencies struggle to keep pace with the worst refugee crisis since World War II they have been forced to cut back on assistance, including food rations. With no end in sight to the Syrian war, and regional host countries increasingly overwhelmed, many refugees see the perilous crossing to Europe as their only option.

In this Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016 photo, Ha Syria refugee boy opens an empty fridge inside his family tent in Kawergosk refugee camp in northern Iraq. (AP Photo/Alice Martins)
In this Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016 photo, Ha Syria refugee boy opens an empty fridge inside his family tent in Kawergosk refugee camp in northern Iraq. AP Photo/Alice Martins