Syrian Refugee Camp in Lebanon Buried in Snow and Ice – Relief organization chairman blames ‘climate change’

Unusually cold and snowy weather has battered northeastern Lebanon affecting 250,000 Syrian refugees.

Even though hundreds of refugee camps and settlements have been devastated by the storm, and temperatures are below freezing, the chairman of the relief organization UOSSM used the occasion to blame ‘climate change’ (I assume he means human-caused global warming).

Syrian refugee camp buried in snow 8 Jan 2019 – Photo credit UOSSM

In a press release dated 8 Jan 2019, the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM) reported, in part:

The snowstorm “Norma” is battering Northeastern Lebanon with heavy snow, rain and strong winds affecting nearly 250,000 refugees. Hundreds of refugee camps and settlements in the area from the Akkar Plain to Bekaa Valley have been devastated by the storm. The camps house thousands of Syrian refugees in little more than tents and improvised wooden structures.…

…Flooding and heavy rains in Northern Syria, which started on December 26, have also devastated IDP camps across the region. Thousands of tents and the personal possessions of these IDPs were washed away, including medical supplies, wheel chairs and equipment. The people in these camps have lost what little they had left with no way of replacing them.

Dr. Hussam Al Fakir, Chairman of UOSSM International said, “Climate change has unleashed hellish conditions on the Syrian refugees in Lebanon. These families are living in tents, with all their clothes and possessions soaked and temperatures below freezing. Children, elderly, the infirm and vulnerable will not survive much longer without being moved to warm and dry locations. This is a humanitarian nightmare and will require an enormous coordinated effort to reach all of these camps in time.” (Emphasis added)

Who is UOSSM?
https://www.uossm.us/who_we_are