Photos: Farmer turns ferryman as river engulfs Syrian hometown
Updated On Jan 21, 2019 01:03 PM IST
Days of torrential rain in the mountains of Lebanon have sent a deluge downstream, bursting the banks of the Orontes River and submerging the streets of Darkush, in the Syrian province of Idlib, under as much as a metre and a half (five feet) of water. So instead of taking his winter rest, farmer and father of four Abu Ilhab is working long hours each day paddling his boat around the streets of his hometown helping stricken residents to get their children to school, do the shopping or check on relatives.
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Updated on Jan 21, 2019 01:03 PM IST
The alleyways of the Syrian town of Darkush in Syria are normally thronged with pedestrians but since the swollen Orontes River burst its banks, Abu Ihab’s boat has provided the main way of getting around. The 49-year-old farmer normally takes a well-earned rest in January when winter frosts turn his fields as hard as rock. (Aaref Watad / AFP)
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Updated on Jan 21, 2019 01:03 PM IST
This year, days of torrential rain in the mountains of Lebanon have sent a deluge downstream, submerging Darkush under as much as a metre and a half (five feet) of water. So instead the father of four is working long hours each day paddling his boat around the streets helping stricken residents to get their children to school, do the shopping or check on relatives. (Aaref Watad / AFP)
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Updated on Jan 21, 2019 01:03 PM IST
“In winter, I don’t usually leave the house much as it is cold and it rains. But this year I felt that people needed me,” he said as he provided yet another ferry ride to grateful fellow townspeople. Abu Ihab normally uses his boat for summer fishing on the Orontes to supplement his farm produce. (Aaref Watad / AFP)
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Updated on Jan 21, 2019 01:03 PM IST
He is one of the few in the town to own one so he offers his services for free, delivering fresh bread from the bakery or ferrying excited children on an unaccustomed school run by boat. “Today, people are staying at home. They can’t even get to the shops to buy food,” he said, wearing a woolly hat and jacket against the cold. (Aaref Watad / AFP)
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Updated on Jan 21, 2019 01:03 PM IST
A boy uses a spade to paddle a small boat in a flooded field close to the town of Darkush. It is not the first year that he has provided his free boat service. “Most years there are spates but this year is a really big one because of the torrential rains,” Abu Ilhab said. (Aaref Watad / AFP)
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Updated on Jan 21, 2019 01:03 PM IST
Children enjoy a ride on a small boat along a flooded street. The ground floors of houses close to the river have been inundated. The mainly Sunni Arab town close the Turkish border lies in Idlib province which is largely under the control of jihadists led by Al-Qaeda’s former Syria branch. (Aaref Watad / AFP)
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Updated on Jan 21, 2019 01:03 PM IST
Across the province, the torrential rains have triggered flash floods that have caused widespread hardship, particularly in the vast tent cities set up for the displaced. (Aaref Watad / AFP)
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Updated on Jan 21, 2019 01:03 PM IST