Aid Committees in Kfar Nabel Accused of Corruption Due to Supply Scarcity

Abdullah Kleido

(Kfar Nabel, Syria) – Mazen is a fighter with the Islamic front from the city of Kfar Nabel. Like many others, the 32-year-old complains of not receiving aid that he desperately needs.

“I contacted the aid office of the Local Council over and over and all I heard from them was that my name was in their records and that I should wait for my turn,” he said. “I waited for six months and received nothing. How long must I wait?”

Kfar Nabel has a population of around 35,000 and lies in the southern suburbs of Idlib. It is one of the first cities that fought against government forces, and as a result experienced destruction and displacement.

After the opposition took control of the city around a year ago, unemployment rose due to the deterioration of the economic situation. All government employees who had participated in the uprising were fired and defectors from the police and army stopped receiving paycheques. In addition, the breadwinners of many families have been killed or arrested

The majority of Kfar Nabel’s residents are in dire need of aid in some form. The only aid they receive is from the Kfar Nabel Aid Council, which was formed before government forces retreated from the city. Residents simply referred to it as “the aid.” Kfar Nabel’s local council was established in May 2013, and the Kfar Nabel Aid Council became an independent humanitarian organization called the Union of Revolutionary Offices. The Aid Council became known as the “Old Aid,” while the aid office of the Local Council was referred to as the “Council Aid”. The latter is responsible for the coordinating the distribution of aid among residents.

Construction worker Abu Tarek, 34, complains of his difficult financial situation, accusing officials of both organizations of not knowing how to “search for the poor.”

“I have five children and no work. I have only received one basket from the Old Aid,” he said. “I registered with both organizations. My financial situation is well known, but the food baskets go to their friends and relatives. People like me who don’t have anyone on the inside receive nothing.”

Abu Tarek is not the only one who accuses both organizations of favouritism and incompetence.

“The local council steals the food baskets it receives,” said Mazen al-Soueid, backing his claim by telling of an incident that happened to his mother.

“After the Council Aid told her she was to receive a food basket, she went to pick it up only to find that it didn’t exist. When she asked them about it she was told that her basket was given to a defector!” he said.

The head of the aid office of the Local Council, Wahib al-Abeido, 53, rejected the accusations.

“The council is made up of people from all the big families in Kfar Nabel,” he said. “No one acts alone. If the Council Aid is accused of theft, then everyone in the city is also accused of theft, and this is inconceivable. We have a statistics office that gathers information on the poor and the needy. We also receive people’s complaints.”

“There are many like Abu Tarek in our files,” said Mohammad al-Abbas, the head of the Aid Office in the Union of Revolutionary Offices. “There are 2,000 families in need, and we receive only 1,200 baskets in the best of cases and they’re given to the most needy. When we get more, we’re able to cover people like Abu Tarek.”

Kfar Nabel residents are not alone in this tragic situation. A number of displaced people from nearby villages lack proper accommodation and food, such as Mohammad Mahloul, 32.

“My name was registered with the Old Aid and I used to receive a food basket. The Council Aid has not given me anything yet, and they even refuse to register my name even though they know my mother and wife are from Kfar Nabel! The Old Aid is more honest than the Council Aid,” he said.

“We are an aid organization that only caters to Kfar Nabel,” Abeido said in response. “When we receive aid earmarked for specific villages, we distribute it to their Local Councils, and it is their job to hand out the baskets,” he said.

Mohammad al-Abbas claims that since the Kfar Nabel Aid Council turned into the Union of Revolutionary Offices eight months ago, it has distributed 2,500 aid baskets worth 100 US dollars each, and another 1,000 baskets containing milk with 25 dollars each, with the support of the Democracy Council in California.

It also distributed 1,800 boxes of milk to residents in the area west of Maarat al-Numan, which were provided by the Assistance Coordination Unit, part of the National Opposition Coalition. It also distributed 2,000 food baskets worth between 30 dollars and 50 dollars each to towns and cities right next to Kfar Nabel. In addition to the aforementioned organizations, the council also received aid and support from independent aid organizations, such as the Islamic Syrian Council and the Watan Relief Organization.

Support also came from various individuals and emigrants originally from the city.

Abeido said that in the past three months the Local Council distributed 225 baskets containing winter clothes, 1,000 baskets to defectors from the police and the army, and 1000 food baskets allocated to the needy in the city. With the support of the Syrian Islamic Council as well as several generous individuals, the Local Council also gave out salaries for six months to the families of those who had been arrested or wounded.

However, distributing aid did not protect the Local Council from harsh criticism. On the Facebook page “Airing Kfar Nabel’s dirty laundry,” the head of the Council Aid came under fire for filming a defector receiving an aid basket and uploading the video to the Local Council’s page as proof that he really was a defector. The Facebook critics considered this extremely offensive to the person in question.

Around 5,000 families reside in Kfar Nabel. In the best of cases, they receive 1,500 baskets, leaving 3,500 families without food aid and very critical of relief organizations in the city. On the other hand, there are those who praise the organizations, such as 40-year-old Mohammad al-Ahmad, a defector from the police who is currently unemployed.

“I have three children, and the Old Aid sends a food basket right to my door every month. They were a source of help for me and my family,” he said.

Mahmoud al-Hilal, 40, is also an unemployed defector from the police. “Each bite is drenched in blood,” he said after receiving his basket. “I fought with my own hands to get this basket.”