Winter Warmth for Syrian Refugees

Syrian boy and his grandmother in a refugee camp When thousands of Syrian refugees receive cartons packed with warm blankets, clothes and sleeping bags, they might well be surprised to learn that the winter gear was collected by dozens of Israeli students and IDF [Israel Defense Forces] employees at an army base in northern Israel.

Like neighboring northern Israel, Syria can experience bitterly cold winters, with temperatures falling to as low as -3 degrees Celsius [26.6° F]. For refugees who are living in makeshift accommodations or even sleeping in the rough, keeping warm can be a challenge.

Shimshon Camp, one of the IDF's largest Ordnance Corps bases, is also the home of the Aman-Shimshon school, attended by 125 students from grades nine to 12, and the drive is their initiative. “Our students include Druze, Bedouin, both Christian and Muslim Arabs, Circassians and Jews,” says school principal Nitzan Amit proudly.

One of the school's teachers, Hana Perlmutter, came across an interesting project. “I discovered project Human Warmth, which collects warm gear for Syrian refugees,” she says. “As a daughter of Holocaust survivors I knew we had to help out.”

The students began to fill up a large space near the principal's office with donations, and have collected 100 kg [220 lb] worth of gear. “They asked us to remove all Hebrew lettering,” says organizer Etti Cohen. “So we're going to write greetings in Arabic and put them in the pockets of the clothing, so that the Syrian refugees get a little bit of support.”