Now refugees are increasingly being forced to find jobs, with some borrowing money to set up their own businesses.
Amina Temo, 35, is a Syrian refugee who has been living in the camp since 2013. She used to work as a tailor in Syria, before she was forced to flee her country. Now, she has started her own small business inside the camp’s confines.
“After funds were cut and many organisations pulled out, aid decreased greatly, and people have to work in any job that’s available,” she says.
“There are women working as cleaners and others who are sewing. I mean they work in any job available. They have to. If they don't work, they will not be able to feed their children.”
Other refugees received small loans provided by the German Corporation for International Cooperation, GIZ. The organisation provides materials and a small amount of money to the refugees to start projects that GIZ approves.
Najida Abdulkarim, 19 and also from Syria, has been living in the camp with her little brothers after her mother travelled to Germany for medical treatment.
Najida, along with other colleagues in the camp, started a greenhouse project.
They plant cucumbers.
“Our project is about cucumbers as you can see and we make a living from it. I work here with my colleagues and we make a living from our greenhouses. Everything is fine, thanks to God, and I support my family,” she says.
But Najida says profits are small.
“Regarding marketing, it is very weak, almost nothing. I mean the prices are very little. We sell very big bags but are still barely making it. The prices here are worth nothing.”
More than 7,680 Syrian refugee families – that’s over 35,000 individuals – are living in 6,242 tents distributed throughout southern Dohuk.
