How Syria's 'Valley Of Death' Became One Of The Largest Landfills In The Country | Risky Business

Being buried alive in this 80-foot tall mountain of trash is Abdullah's worst fear. But hunting here for treasures like copper and nylon is one of the only ways thousands of people can survive in Syria, a country that's been a war zone for 13 years. The 11-year-old was born in the midst of the Syrian civil war. Since then, public services like trash collection have collapsed. Garbage, rubble and weapons have piled up in landfills. And informal recycling has become one of the few industries thriving in a war-torn country. So how deadly is Syria's trash problem? And who are the people risking their lives in this business? Singing is one of the few things that helps Abdullah keep his mind off his job. He dropped out of school when he was seven to work at the Al-Habat landfill in Idlib. He spends 12 hours here every day just to support his family. This used to be an old stone quarry until 2006. Now, garbage trucks dump trash at least 50 times a day without any warning. Abdullah mostly searches for copper, the most valuable material around here. He finds it in broken engines or old electrical wires. But he can also make some money from recycling nylon and aluminum. The trash is mixed up with hazardous items, like old medical waste that could be radioactive or infectious. Abdullah fills up as many as 10 bags a day. Each can weigh over 50 pounds, depending on the day's haul. That's nearly half of his own weight. During the early years of the war, this pit was known as the Valley of Death because it was an easy place to dispose of bodies. Reports suggest over 150 people affiliated with the government of President Bashar al-Assad, ISIS and even civilians were executed or dumped here. In 2015, some rebel groups captured Idlib province. One faction rose to power and went on to form the Syrian Salvation Government. They turned this into a landfill in 2019 and they now manage trash collection in Idlib as Assad's government stopped providing public services in rebel-held areas. Today, there's little infrastructure and collectors are frequently injured. In 2020, a video captured an avalanche of garbage that killed three children. Abdullah's mom, Hala, vividly remembers that day. Abdullah and his family have lived in the nearby Mariam camp for displaced Syrians for the last four years. A Turkish NGO called Vatan runs it and about 1,000 families live here. During the war, Idlib province became one of the few safe areas for people who opposed Assad. The population multiplied to nearly 4.5 million. Now, there are more than 1,500 displacement camps in northwestern Syria. But not enough jobs or education. In fact, 43% of children across the country are not in school. Abdullah's dad lost his job as a sanitation worker when they fled the war in Damascus. He says he's always looking for work, but meanwhile, he depends on his children. Many in this country are still trying to recover from the war. Syrians are grappling with soaring inflation rates, reportedly as high as 188%. The country's economy suffered an estimated loss of $442 billion from 2011 to 2018. Major sectors like agriculture, mining and manufacturing came to a standstill. And cities have crumbled. In Aleppo alone, nearly 50 million cubic meters of what experts call conflict rubble, a mixture of cement, heavy metals and asbestos has piled up. That's enough to fill a cube taller than the Eiffel Tower. And it would likely take billions of dollars to clean up. With trash piling up, military equipment has become one of the most valuable items in junkyards. Experts estimate at least 100,000 unexploded weapons are lying among the debris. Children as young as 10 handle discarded mortar shells, machine gun bullets and cluster bombs. They're from Syria, Russia, the U.S. and other countries that fought here. Old weapons also end up in landfills, like this one called Al-Noman in Aleppo, Syria's largest city. Hussein Ramadan has been sorting through trash here for the past eight years, often with his two children. He used to be a shepherd in a nearby town, but fled to Aleppo when war broke out. Two years ago, a rocket blew up in his hand and cut off part of his left thumb. But that hasn't stopped him from looking for more rockets because they can be good money. He can sell one for about $3 to local scrapyards, but he has to collect a lot more plastic or nylon to make the same amount. People sometimes burn the trash to get rid of it. And it fills the air with smoke and toxic chemicals that could cause cancer. Hussein's lungs are so damaged that he now needs to use an inhaler. Excavators dump garbage just inches away from the collectors. In 2021, 93,000 outbreaks of Aleppo Boyle were reported in northern Syria, a skin disease which spreads through sand flies. Rabies is also common here, as dogs scavenge through the same dumps. Still, these landfills have become a major source of food for Hussein, his children and many others. 60% of Syrians suffer from food insecurity, and 90% live below the poverty line. Hussein can see this landfill from where he lives, in a camp just a few minutes away. His family of 12 people share a single tent. On a good day, he can earn up to $15, which is enough to buy bread for a week for a small family. Hussein also buys and sells from kids, who see him as a father figure. About an hour's drive away in Idlib, children bring their treasures to local scrapyards like this one. Old air conditioners and washing machines are disposed of here too. They also buy discarded weapons and bullets. They ship some of the scrap to Turkey, while the rest is recycled in Syria. Some of the plastics are recycled into products like floor mats, and even turned into fuel, while old rubble is being used to construct new homes and buildings, because raw materials are hard to find. Meanwhile, people like Hussein and Abdullah pick up what they can, one bag at a time. The war has robbed Abdullah of his childhood, but he still dares to dream. And like any other mother, Hala hopes things turn around for her family and for her country. This is the best thing that God has given Syria. My soul, my soul, what has tormented us. And the people I loved turned out to be traitors. That's it.