This is just a snapshot of a red tabby and white cat at the doorway to a tent in the Lebanese Bekaa Valley refugee camp for displaced Syrians escaping the war in their country.
The image quality is poor but I wanted to know whether there are cats in these sprawling refugee camps. Apparently there are. Perhaps a Syrian lady brought her cat all the way from Syria. Perhaps this is a Lebanese tabby and white moggie that wondered into the camp and settled at one tent where the occupiers warmed to him.
It is freezing cold in the Bekaa Valley in December and there is little money coming in to feed the refugees. There is a lack of political will and a lack of promised funds getting through.
I am sure that this red tabby and white cat eats very badly. I wonder what he lives off? The refugees collect snow and melt it for drinking water and for cooking. They burn whatever they can get their hands on to keep warm and to cook. What are his chances of survival?
It is a sad scene. This is a harsh life for a domestic cat and his caretaker.
This is where the Lebanese Bekaa Valley is:
God, we are so fortunate as you say. A lot of the time we don’t really appreciate it. I feel bad about these refugees. Going off topic, the Syrian women seem to be very attractive, and to see them living such harsh lives that will age them early is sad. I noticed how beautiful some of the women were! And that is without makeup.
Yes, both refugee and cat are their to survive under difficult conditions. Together they can survive more easily, which is the way it has always been and the reason for the domestication of the cat. I think too it makes the home – a tent – more homely and agreeable. It normalizes things a little bit.