Fire at Bersive Refugee Camp 1

We all understand the devastation fire can have when living in a nice home with resources at our disposal, fire departments and services to help put our lives back in order. Imagine for a minute, a fire, within the boundaries of a refugee camp where there are no fire departments to respond, no outside services to help people who have suffered from the devastation done.

This is the story of a fire affecting 22 tents.

         “On 23 December 2017, at 6:30 am…this morning when was sleeping, I

 woke up to pray and heard the sound of screaming from nearby tents saying there was a fire, there was a fire.

We went out of our tents fast enough to tell the nearby tents who had no

knowledge about the fire, because there was no fire extinguisher we suffered

great damage. Causing more than 22 tents to burn.

…At the same time the growth, the fire behavior… has exposed us to severe losses such as aid we received, clothes, TVs , fridge, our personal identity papers, personal computer…

Before the fire occurred, we were in very good condition, due to the fire, nearly 50 blankets were lost. Now I live in my relatives' house until we receive a tent or shelter.

In addition, all the books of my daughters and my son, who are studying at the university were burned. I hoped that their poems and books would be returned because they were their future.

We had 6 books of Quran, the burning of the Quran was one of the most influential things for me, just I am praying to my God.”

In a place where there are few things that matter to people, the loss of the family’s holy books had a markedly devastating effect on this family. Can you even imagine it?

Bring Hope Humanitarian Foundation responded immediately to this disaster by distributing floor coverings, blankets, clothes and other needed items on 25 December 2017. While many in the West celebrated Christmas with gifts and tables loaded with food, the people of Bersive Camp 1 sought to recover. This refugee camp houses 1600 families or 8,930 individuals from the Sinjar area. Bring Hope was there less than 2 full days following this fire to help alleviate suffering from these vulnerable people. To be part of this proactive humanitarian group, see bringhope.info.

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