Poverty and violence has driven Syrians to shelter in caves Damascus – George Al Shami With clashes and random shelling on the rise across Syria, some Syrian families have resorted to living in caves to protect themselves, earning themselves the name of “Ahl ?al-Kahf” (People of the Cave).?
Some of these families are sheltering in caves on the outskirts of the northwestern town of Idlib, Syrian opposition website, Shahid Ayan Halab (Aleppo Eyewitness), reported on Sunday.  
“We arrived at the cave just as it had received a new ?resident, who will live in it for an unknown period of time,” the reporter wrote.
“It was Asmaa, a girl who was born ?on Saturday and who was no more than 24 hours old when we arrived.”?
Asmaa’s mother was displaced six months ago, along with her husband, from the town of Kafr Nabuda in the suburbs of Hama. Unable to afford a house, and wary of air raids, ?they turned to a rocky cave for shelter.
Their new home is surrounded by many similar caves inhabited by other families. Humans probably lived in the spot during the Stone Age, although many of the caves ?were later used as graves, especially during the Roman era.?
The “People of the Cave” here, most of them from Kafr Nabuda, are spread 500 dunums (500,000 square metres) across the rocky landscape at the far edges of the countryside in southern Idlib. They are estimated to number 50 families, although this number could increase at any moment if shelling intensifies in the area.?
Whether it used to be a cemetery, a human dwelling or a normal rocky cavity, the cave is now home for Asmaa’s family.  As her father explained, “We tried to find a house in any village around us, but ?all the villages are crowded with displaced people. I tried to go to the refugee camps in Turkey, ?but the camps are full and are not receiving more refugees. I can’t afford the price of a car to ?reach the Turkish borders.
“But God didn’t abandon us, he sent us a good man … ?who donated this cave to us. He removed the hay and other things he was storing in the cave and ?gave it to us so we could live in it.”

In another cave, a woman in her forties known as Um Boshra (Boshra’s mother), also from Kafr Nabuda, counts herself lucky ?because unlike most of her neighbours’ ‘homes’, her cave is tall enough for her to stand up in. She said the constant stooping is so bad it had given one of her neighbours back ?problems.
The report said: “Um Boshra invited us for coffee in her cave, as she is one of a few ?people lucky enough to have a kitchen in the settlement, as her cave is wide and she was able to ?use one of its corners to put the kitchen equipment.”?
When asked what bothers her most about living in the cave, Um Boshra replied that she was “used to living here”. ?
\"We have been through a tough winter and managed to handle it,” she said.
“We are now used to living in the ?cave, but the thing that hurts my heart most is that Eid has passed and I couldn’t visit the grave ?of my daughter Boshra who was martyred seven months ago. The rebels prevented us for our safety, as ?the military checkpoints surrounding the town snipe anything that moves.”?
It is custom during the Muslim festival of Eid to visit the graves of loved ones who have died.
The reporter asked Um Boshra if she would agree to a truce between the regime’s army if it meant she could return to her home, as residents of ?neighbouring towns have done.
“I will not return to my ?home until after the victory over [Syrian president] Bashar al-Assad,” she replied.
“We have shown a lot of patience, and we will be more ?patient. We are waiting for the Free Syrian Army to win and liberate all of Syria, then afterwards we will ?return. I don’t want to return without victory.”