Hazano is a locality in north Idlib countryside. Like other localities in the area, it is administered by a local council that is affiliated with the Salvation Government. In accordance with Salvation Government laws on local administration, the most recent formation of the local council was officially dissolved on 19 August 2019.
What is the services and humanitarian situation in Hazano? How has the most recent formation of the local council tried to help residents and IDPs? To learn more, I interviewed on 4 August 2019 the media guy for the Hazano local council. Any parenthetical insertions in square brackets are my own.
Q: Can you tell me a little about the locality of Hazano in general? The number of original inhabitants and the IDPs currently etc.
A: Hazano is a locality affiliated with the Ma'arat Misreen district and the highway passes through it. Most of its inhabitants work in agriculture and business. The locality is suffering from a scarcity of services because of the great residential inflation and especially recently and especially so for the water network and the sewage and removal of garbage, of course the reason being the weakness of the council's capabilities. There are 32,000 inhabitants: 19,000 original residents, 13,000 IDPs.
Q: From where are the IDPs?
A: All the Syrian regions, from the beginning of the displacement of the peoples of Homs until the latest displacement from al-Ma'ara [Ma'arat al-Nu'man]. For seven years it has been receiving IDPs.
Q: Can you tell me a little about the local council?
A: The council was [first] formed in 2012. It has a number of offices:
- Services office
- Medical office
- Legal office
- Relief office
- Agricultural office
- Planning and studies office
- Public relations office
- Financial office
- Education office
- Martyrs and detained office
- Survey and documentation office
- Personal affairs office
A woman's office also operates with us.
Q: Recently what are the most important projects of the council in serving the residents of the locality and the IDPs?
A: Projects from the council or support of aid organizations?
Q: Both.
A: - Distributing bread to the IDPs.
- Supporting the locality's oven including IDPs and residents.
- Removing garbage twice daily from the locality and camps.
- Supporting the camps with drinking water and toilets.
- Distributing portions of food aid for the IDPs and residents.
- Pumping water to the locality.
- There is a medical point but not supported. In it is a children's clinic only. And there is a mobile clinic that comes twice a week.
- Spraying the village with pesticides.
Q: What are the greatest challenges that the locality faces regarding the humanitarian situation and services?
A: The locality suffers from inflation and expansion of inhabitants as the water and sewage networks do not cover the locality well. There are many open sewage holes leading to many illnesses. The locality's roads are in a bad state. The locality needs to have all the roads repaired and maintained. There is difficulty in removing garage and the reason is paucity of workers and weakness of the council's capabilities.