It is called "Our protected house", in Arabic "Darna al Aman", the project with which Un Ponte Per, thanks to the precious support of the Otto per Mille funds of the Italian Buddhist Institute Soka Gakkai, was able to open and sustain over time three Safe Spaces in Raqqa, destined to women, girls, and children living among the rubble of a city harshly hit by years of conflict. Thanks to the collaboration with the local partner, Doz, Un Ponte Per is able to guarantee protection to children, women and girls who still have to deal with a present characterised by war and displacement.
Un Ponte Per's Safe Spaces in Syria were opened in 2021. Since then, they have been providing support, advocacy and prevention to counter child and gender-based violence every day.
In 2023 alone, they welcomed and supported almost 3,300 people including women, adolescents, children.
"These are Spaces that welcome children, women and girls, organised according to their specific needs," Ambra Malandrin, project manager, tells us."In each of these Spaces, individual and group activities take place, individual support and child protection is provided for the prevention of gender-based violence, early marriages, and the exploitation of child labour. And to provide women with support".
Thereare many activities and they are organised according to the needs identified by the local partners. In the one dedicated to children, sometimes it is enough just to play.
"The activities in the Space are play, sports, music. They are aimed at children who have lost everything due to war and displacement, and who therefore have no right to a normal childhood. Even being free to play then becomes a means of emancipation,' Ambra explains. "We then try to accompany them on a path that makes them aware of their rights and the dangers they face."
In fact, in Raqqa there are no places dedicated to children, and it is not uncommon to see children playing among the rubble, or among the skeletons of destroyed buildings, with the risk that they might run into unexploded ordnance. "One of the most important achievements we have seen is that they have a place to play safely. They often tell us that they feel comfortable in space because they can dress up, say, do what they want. We have to keep in mind that about 60 per cent of them do not go to school, so having educational sessions and regularity in their daily lives is a great support, which helps them to grow and develop their skills," Ambra emphasises. "When and if the specialised staff working in the Space encounter more serious individual problems, or safety issues, they can take immediate action and support the children individually, also involving the families," she explains. One of the aims of the work is to combat violence and exploitative child labour.
As for the space dedicated to women and girls, here too there are many activities created 'to get to know each other, create bonds and relationships, make them aware of their rights. We try to rebuild that social network that the conflict has destroyed, and to overcome the difficulties that women still have in moving around and inhabiting public space,' Ambra explains. "Before we started our intervention, we knew that only 7 per cent of women had access to gender-based violence protection services in Raqqa. And even though the war now seems far away, its effects are still a daily reality for them. Being able to access these spaces becomes central, a first step on the path to regaining their autonomy, freedom, emancipation,' Ambra says.
Recently, thanks to the support of the Italian Buddhist Institute Soka Gakkai, we started working on another important step: 'A safe transport service to and from the Spaces, identifying the areas in and around Raqqa that are most disadvantaged from this point of view. Today we are able to reach the areas from where the women and the children who attend our Spaces arrive, and accompany them safely on their way to and from home. This is very important," he emphasises. "In addition, we also use the transport service to accompany them to play football for example. We identify a suitable place, free of danger, and accompany them so that they can use it safely. This service is also dedicated to women: the aim is for them to feel free and safe not only inside the space, but also on the way there," Ambra concludes.
Combating gender-based violence in all its forms remains the central objective of Un Ponte Per's intervention in north-eastern Syria, where years of conflict have left children and women particularly exposed to risks, discrimination and difficulties of all kinds. Accompanying them in their journey to regain their right to life, to safety, free from gender-based violence remains the first step to take to build a fairer future for all.
In the days when the Palestinian tragedy is back in the news, reminding the world of its urgency, the Turkish government has returned to bombing north-eastern Syria, carrying out one of the harshest attacks in the past year. It was not reported in the media, but from 5 to 10 October, the Turkish armed forces conducted an extremely harsh aggression against the population in the area. This time, civilian, infrastructure and energy targets were targeted. The bombings hit more than 150 sites in the governorates of Hassakeh, Raqqa and Aleppo, causing dozens of casualties and destroying power and water plants, which resulted in water and electricity being cut off throughout the region.
As denounced by the Autonomous Administration, the damage to infrastructure had a very serious impact on 4.3 million people, completely knocking out 18 water plants and 11 power plants, including the one in Sweidiya, which supplies gas and electricity to all the regions in the north east; and the one in Qamishlo, which supports 40 thousand families. Attacks that made the distribution of electricity and water impossible until at least 18 October. A situation that has already been denounced in the past by civil society, which is raising the alarm about the spread of diseases such as cholera due to the lack of clean water. The two hospitals in Al-Jazira and Kobane have been put completely out of service.
"This is not the first time we are facing the dramatic consequences of Turkish attacks in the area"
Luca Magno, Syria Programmes Desk of Un Ponte Per
School classes have been disrupted, leaving thousands of students attending 48 schools at home. The total number of civilian sites targeted by the Turkish armed forces reached 104, in the course of 580 air and ground raids from Derik to Al-Shahba, which hit almost the entire north-east of Syria. During the aggression, at least 50 people were killed and at least as many wounded. The population, already struggling with a severe water crisis due to the drought of the summer months, is now in dire straits and the level of damage caused to essential services exceeds the response capacity of humanitarian organisations working on the ground. As our local colleagues point out, military operations have resulted in the destruction of several power plants and, as a consequence, have brought local hospitals to their knees and caused severe damage to stocks of medicines that need to be kept in refrigerators. But the worst situation, they warn, is in the Jazira region, where the lack of clean water is threatening to cause major damage.
"This is not the first time we have had to face the dramatic consequences of the Turkish attacks in the area," Luca Magno, Desk Programmes in Syria of Un Ponte Per, tells us. "We are working with our partners to do our part and provide new generators and solar panels, and ensure medical assistance through the Mobile Units to cover the needs of the affected villages and camps for displaced people, such as the one in Washokhani. People are very frightened, we must reassure them, make them feel that they are not alone and that we are ready to rebuild what the war destroys, whenever necessary".
"If it looks like genocide, if it 'sounds' like genocide and if the perpetrators call it genocide, then it is genocide" cit. Andrew Murray, vice president of Stop the War Coalition
In the last few hours the number of victims of Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip has reached 10,000, almost half of whom are children. For weeks now, Israel has been bombing refugee camps, hospitals, ambulances, power plants and water infrastructure.
In Gaza, bakeries no longer make bread and soon the only water left for the civilian population will be water from the sea.
Eighty-eight UN employees and 175 health workers were killed by Israeli shelling.
Meanwhile, evidence suggests Israeli use of white phosphorus bombs in both northern Gaza and southern Lebanon. Needless to turn around: we are witnessing a genocide, whose ultimate goal seems to be to 'empty' Gaza completely, reducing it to a desert heath 'cleared' of its population.
As women and men for peace, we ask ourselves, what level of atrocity is still bearable before the international community imposes a ceasefire? How many more war crimes, how many more thousands of victims will we be forced to witness before this collective punishment on a defenceless population stops?
The slaughter must stop now, a cease-fire is needed.
***
'Water for Gaza' is our campaign to respond to the crisis resulting from Israel's complete siege of the Palestinian people.
Get active today for the Palestinian people and help us bring water to Gaza. With your donation we will provide immediate relief by guaranteeing clean water to 2000 families and support what remains of local agricultural activities.
On 27 October, a shipment of Arabic-language books destined for the Arab-speaking prison population was delivered to the Regina Coeli Prison in Rome.
The books were delivered as part of our 'Kutub Hurra - Libri Liberi' project, which we have been carrying out since 2022 together with theTunisian Association 'Lina Ben Mhenni', created in memory of the activist who died prematurely and left a vast collection of Arabic-language books.
The project is promoted thanks to a vast network of Italian realities operating within prisons, and the aim is to build a bridge of books across the Mediterranean.
The handover was made possible by the collaboration with the 'Fuori Riga' Association and the Guarantor of the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty of the Municipality of Rome, Valentina Calderone, who were present at the initiative.
The "Regina Coeli" Prison is the latest to be involved in the initiative: books were previously delivered to Livorno (Le Sughere Prison and Gorgona Prison), Pisa (Don Bosco Prison), Padua (Due Palazzi Prison) and Florence (Sollicciano Prison).
Since the first book delivery, which took place in May 2022, "Kutub Hurra" has managed to reach over 1,000 Arabophon detainees in 6 penal institutions in Italy (another 6 are in the process of being involved), delivering over 350 volumes in the course of 4 consignments from Tunisia, thanks to the cooperation between 8 Italian and Tunisian organisations.
The project aims to create a more inclusive prison environment through the provision of reading opportunities to Arabic-speaking inmates and prisoners and the use of books as a tool for emancipation.
In this sense, books become a means to promote cultural dialogue. Having readings and literature in Arabic also means being considered in one's entirety and dignity, a necessary starting point for any path to inclusion and rehabilitation.
We will keep you updated on the developments of our 'bridge of books' across the Mediterranean.
Every act against defenceless civilians, the taking of hostages and the violation of the victims' dignity is for us at Un Ponte Per cause for outrage and condemnation.
Throughout our history we have taken the point of view of civilian victims, without discrimination of nationality, skin colour or colonial flavour. For us, every victim is a defeat of humanity, a crime that should be fought by the international community moving to stop the violence and not to add horror to more horror.
The equation Gaza=Hamas is therefore unacceptable because it disposes to a collective vengeance on a defenceless population, which cannot escape anywhere and which sees, neighbourhood after neighbourhood, the entire area heading towards total destruction. This is why we call on the European Union and the international community to use all pressure to induce the Israeli government to end the siege of Gaza and allow relief and protection of civilians, starting with the weakest and most vulnerable.
The civilians (including children) killed during the Israeli raid will not get justice if this massacre is compounded by new massacres of other children and civilians. Just as the Palestinian children murdered in recent years by the ruthless and blind occupation of their territories have not received justice.
The slaughter must stop, the weapons must stop!
We also express alarm and concern for the humanitarian workers who are trapped in Gaza and who are witnessing the terrible things that are happening to the civilian population, whose death toll, hour by hour, is growing exponentially.
We give all our solidarity to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa) who lost 9 staff members in the bombing tonight.
We find it unbelievable and irresponsible that the European Union, at the very time when one of the most densely populated areas in the world is under siege, is discussing the possible interruptionof cooperation fundsdirected to the Palestinian population.
We demand the release of every Israeli hostage, just as we renew our call for the release of the unjustly detained Palestinian political prisoners.
The massacre and destruction of Gaza in the face of the international community's immobility, may set the whole of West Asia on fire, strengthening fundamentalist sectarian components, with the risk of conflict expansion.
We must empty the wells of hatred, rebuild trust in international law, and work to replace the logic of war and weapons with that of dialogue and negotiation. Let the voices of men and women of culture rise from Arab and Israeli civil society against this bellicose drift.
Let us build bridges between civil societies because as Vittorio Arrigoni wrote, we must 'remain human, even when humanity seems to be lost around us'.
Resorting to the force of arms, the militarisation of territory, the building of walls, the apartheid system, and the denial of the Palestinian people's elementary rights have not made Israel safer.
Only a genuine peace process and decolonisation of the Palestinian territories and the implementation of UN resolutions can help rebuild mutual trust within a framework of respect for the fundamental rights of all.
'Water for Gaza' is our campaign in response to the crisis resulting from Israel's complete siege of the Palestinian people.
Get active today for the Palestinian people and help us bring water to Gaza. With your donation we will provide immediate relief by guaranteeing clean water to 2000 families and support what remains of local agricultural activities.
THE STORY OF MARIAM
When Mariam invites us into her tent, we sit on large cushions lying on the floor, in front of us a battery-operated fan, necessary for the hours when there is no electricity.Mariam is 72 years old and for four years has been living in a tent in the Washokani camp, which was set up on the outskirts of the city of Hassake in October 2019 by the Autonomous Administration and Un Ponte Per together with the Kurdish Red Crescent.
Mariam moves from grimaces of pain and tiredness to infectious laughter. She amuses herself by saying that she lives alone not by choice but because 'it's common knowledge, daughters-in-law don't want to live with mothers-in-law'.
SURVIVE AND ADAPT
It was 4 p.m. on 9 October 2019 when Turkey launched the attack against the Kurdish people and the house of Mariam, striking the town of Serekanye with heavy bombardment. 300,000 people were forced to flee, leaving everything behind.
"We lacked nothing," says Mariam angrily. "We lived well and were happy. They looted our houses and burnt them down. We had to escape death." Today, 16,000 people live in the Washokani camp.
Here Un Ponte Per provides all primary health services: the Internal Medicine Clinic, the Paediatric Clinic, gynaecological care and pre- and post-natal care, the Emergency Clinic.
PROTECTING DIGNITY
"I have heart and kidney problems, I can't walk, I can hardly move," Mariam tells us. "Fortunately, in an emergency, the Un Ponte Per ambulance picks me up from my tent and takes me to the camp clinic. It has already happened several times, even at night". "And then the medicines. Outside the camp they cost money, I couldn't even afford a pill for a headache. My children don't work, our economic situation is very difficult".
Although elderly women are among the most vulnerable people in Syria, their needs are often invisible. They face the last years of their lives away from homes that have been destroyed, in tents in refugee camps, often alone and with health problems to deal with.
"I have heart and kidney problems, I cannot walk. Moving around is very difficult"
"I am Kamrul, Medical Advisor with Un Ponte Per in Washokani camp. Here we provide health services to displaced people, while Community Health Workers visit those with mobility problems, such as the elderly, directly in the tents. When necessary, we transfer them to health facilities in the camp or, in more serious cases, to the nearest hospitals".
Join our 'Free to Break' campaign. We need your help to break down the walls of stereotypes and oppression that discriminate against girls and women in North East Syria.
Ensure that isolation and restrictions on the movement of displaced women do not compromise their access to medical care.
THE THREE SISTERS FROM ALEPPO
Mariam, Bissan and Ghazal are three sisters born in Aleppo, the city infamous for its siege and atrocities against fleeing civilians. Six years ago they lost their 10-year-old brother in a bombing raid. Shortly afterwards, so did their mother. Mariam is the youngest, 8 years old and wants to be a paediatrician when she grows up. Bissan, 11, likes to sing. Ghazal is 13 years old, she is the shyest and likes to play football.
THE FLIGHT TO RAQQA
Mariam and Bissan were born during the Syrian war while Ghazal was only 1 year old when the conflict broke out.They fled Aleppo and took refuge in Raqqa where they now live with their father and adoptive mother Nada.
The war in Syria has taken a heavy toll on the mental health of children, who have faced bereavement and displacement. In Raqqa, Un Ponte Per has opened three Safe Spaces to provide protection and psychological wellbeing for children, girls and women.
RETURN TO SMILING
"They were shy and never wanted to spend time with other children," Nada tells us. "Two years ago their father and I took them to Un Ponte Per's Safe Space and in the last year we are seeing great progress. They interact more and have friends both here and at school."
Six years after the battle of Raqqa, the children are still growing up in the rubble. Sixty per cent of them do not go to school."It is difficult to raise a child here," Nada confides worriedly. "Even more difficult is raising a daughter."
"We love the activities that are done in the Safe Space. We can sing and even draw because they give us everything we need. And then here we can express our opinions."
"I am Lasu, Protection Specialist in Raqqa with Un Ponte Per. We work to ensure protection and rights for children exposed to violence, child labour, early marriage. We help them identify risks and provide them with the tools they need to report incidents of violence and abuse, which are especially prevalent among girls".
Join our 'Free to Break' campaign. We need your help to break down the walls of stereotypes and oppression that discriminate against girls and women in north-east Syria.
Help us bring smiles to girls in our Safe Spaces, treating trauma, combating violence and preventing child labour and early marriage.
THE STORY OF ASTHMAA
When Asmaa opened her tailor's shop, she knew the adventure would not end there. In just one year, his life has turned upside down and he almost struggles to keep track of all the turns he has taken in recent months. She shows us the sign outside her shop that reads 'Sartoria Nur. For women and children'.
"The business management training I received from Un Ponte Per allowed me to plan my business idea in detail. UPP also provided me with a grant that I used to buy tools, such as sewing machines, and to rent the premises'.
STARTING FROM SCRATCH
Asmaa is 36 years old, a widow and mother of 5 children, 3 girls and 2 boys. Her husband and eldest daughter Nur were killed 6 years ago during the furious battle of Raqqa. Since her husband's death, Asmaa's main concern has been to take care of her family. She needed to find a source of income, especially since she wanted her children to continue their studies.
"I had some knowledge of tailoring, so I started doing home repairs for my neighbours and relatives. Despite this, the income was not enough. I depended on the financial help of my brothers'. Like all the inhabitants of Raqqa, Asmaa has experienced some of the heaviest fighting and shelling in the history of the Syrian conflict.
DURING DAESH
During the period under Daesh (ISIS) control between 2013 and the end of 2017, women like Asmaa suffered severe restrictions that limited their freedom of movement, access to health services and education. "The regulations imposed used to control our lives a lot," she tells us. "Now the situation has changed a lot." After the end of Daesh control, Syrian women are emerging as protagonists in society, facing the economic crisis and the challenges of gender inequality.
FROM SEAMSTRESS TO ENTREPRENEUR
Asmaa employed a trainer to teach girls in the neighbourhood the art of tailoring. With the money she earned, she opened a second shop in the centre of Raqqa, which serves as a shop window for her clothing line. Thanks to this economic independence, Asmaa can now take care of her family without having to ask her siblings for help. 'I am a completely new person,' she says proudly.
"I wanted my sons and daughters to continue to study, and to have a better life than I did."
Abdullah, Livelihood Officer of Un Ponte Per a Raqqa, supported Asmaa in developing the business plan, calculating investments and assessing the feasibility of the project. In a labour market still patriarchal and burdened by conflict and economic crisis, supporting women to become active agents of change is crucial.
Join our 'Free to Break' campaign. We need your help to break down the walls of stereotypes and oppression that discriminate against girls and women in North East Syria.
Guarantee women equal access to social and economic life by providing them with training and access to income.
We are deeply saddened by the news of the tragic fire that broke out during a wedding in a small town in northern Iraq, resulting in the loss of so many innocent lives. At least 100 people are reported killed and more than 150 injured, some with very serious burns. We have been working in Qaraqosh for more than 10 years, since before theoccupation by Daesh (Islamic State), alongside religious minorities with peacebuilding programmes, rebuilding schools and health facilities.
In these hours we have received a request for support from the 'Al Horuk' hospital in Mosul, the only public facility in the Nineveh Governorate that specialises in treating burns. We are already supporting this facility and just yesterday we finished equipping the hospital's two emergency rooms, which are overflowing at this time.
In coordination with our partners, we are checking what else we can do in the emergency response. At the moment, our local staff is distributing masks and gloves, and inviting all our contacts to donate blood, which is urgently needed. Fortunately, none of our local staff were affected, but several of their loved ones were.
On this day of sorrow and sadness, we wish to express from Italy our most sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to all those affected by this terrible tragedy. All our sympathy to the Iraqi people.
OPEN LETTER:
"On 31 August, Khaled El Qaisi, respectively husband and son of the writer, was detained by the Israeli authorities and is still imprisoned under a precautionary measure pending verification of elements to formulate a charge. Last Thursday, Khaled, who has dual citizenship, Italian and Palestinian, was crossing the 'Allenby' border crossing with his wife and son after spending the holiday with his family in Bethlehem, Palestine. At the luggage and document check, after a long wait, he was handcuffed under the incredulous gaze of his four-year-old son, his wife, as well as all those present who were waiting to resume their journey. The wife's requests for explanations were not answered, rather she was asked questions and then sent off with her son to Jordanian territory, without telephone, cash or contacts, in a foreign country. In the late afternoon, the wife and child were only able to reach the Italian Embassy thanks to the human generosity of some Palestinian ladies. Khaled, a translator and student of Oriental Languages and Civilisations atLa Sapienza University in Rome, esteemed for his passionate commitment to the collection, dissemination and translation of Palestinian historical material, is one of the founders of the Palestinian Documentation Centre, an association that aims to promote Palestinian culture in Italy. Family, friends, but also those who simply had the opportunity to meet him are eagerly waiting for updates. At the moment, he has not yet been able to meet his lawyer and there is still little news about his safety. All we have heard from the consulate and his lawyer is that he will face a hearing on Thursday, 7 September. In the meantime, we imagine Khaled in complete isolation, with no contact with the outside world, with no real perception of the passage of time, under the pressure of continuous interrogations, anguished about the fate of his own son and his wife left in the lurch with the only image in his eyes of his deportation in handcuffs. The situation is therefore very serious. We await with great anxiety the resolution of this unjust imprisonment. We call on whoever has the power to do so to ascertain Khaled's health condition and, above all, to exert all necessary pressure for his speedy release.
The undersigned:
Francesca Antinucci, wife; Lucia Marchetti, mother".
