Tripoli: The widows of “Khanka” await a slow death || Newspapers (Arabic)

As Safir newspaper published a report about the Khanka in Tripoli which serves as a home and refuge for widows who have lost their spouses and who have nowhere else to go and which is managed by the Islamic Endowments Center.

Khanka is a historical building dating back to the Mamlouk era and located in the old Tripoli quarter.  The space is now sadly decrepit and threatened to disintegrate given the lack of care and maintenance of what is a historical monument. Walid Al-Shami of the Islamic Endowments Center notes in his interview with As Safir that the building has suffered from a long time of neglect and he points out to the responsibility of Islamic Endowments Center in failing to protect it.  Women hosted in Khanka are occasionally taken care of by charitable organizations.

As Safir points out to one of the women residents who has been living there for 36 years and who notes that the living conditions are now very harsh as the space used to have a fountain with clean latrines.  However, the walls are now moldy and insalubrious.  Another 70 year old women resident who has been on site for the last 30 years notes that the place is now in a terrible condition especially in the winter while stating that some families from the neighborhood help with food occasionally.  However, she adds that she is living there whilst waiting for death to become her in a situation that is untenable to other people.

Source: Al-Safir 9 April 2013