Series of unending civil wars and conflicts, after the 2011 Arab Spring have pushed Syria into one of the world’s worst Humanitarian Crisis. These civil wars have had a huge impact on the children of Syria. Health care centres, schools, hospitals, human settlements and historical landmarks have been severely destroyed and reduced to rubble. The remaining health care facilities and sanitation systems are on the verge of collapsing.
According to UNICEF 18.8 million Syrians need humanitarian assistance among them 7.3 million are children who need humanitarian aid. More than 5.6 million Syrians have registered themselves as refugees who escaped civil wars and violence to the neighbouring countries. About 6.6 million Syrians are internally displaced.
What caused the Syrian Humanitarian Crisis?
The 2011 Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain and Yemen inspired major protests in Syria. The Syrian Army intervened in March 2011, and the Syrian government’s crackdown to control the protestors gradually increased the violence, which gradually escalated to major military operations to suppress resistance. In April, hundreds died in clashes between the Syrian Army and opposition forces, which included armed protestors and defected soldiers. The country quickly got divided into a complex patchwork of shifting alliances and territories between President Assad’s government and the rebel groups. The rebel groups included a majority of Kurdish SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces), and Salafi Jihadist groups (including ISIL, which is currently known as ISIS).
According to UN about half a million people had lost their lives among whom there were several thousand civilians. But the Assad government denies the numbers. It was in mid-2012 when all peace treaties failed and the UN finally declared Syria to be in a state of civil war.
The Syrian civil war is now more than just a battle between those who are for or against President Assad’s regime. Many groups and countries each having their own agendas are now involved, making the situation far more complex. They have been accused of fostering hatred between Syria's religious groups, pitching the Sunni Muslim majority against the president's Shia Alawite sect. Such divisions have led both sides to commit atrocities, torn communities apart and dimmed hopes of peace. They have also allowed the jihadist groups like Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS) and al-Qaeda to flourish. Syria's Kurds, who want the right of self-government but have not fought President Assad's forces, have added another dimension to the conflict.
So, how has Syrian Humanitarian Crisis affected people?
Millions of people have been robbed of their future and opportunities. Children have been robbed of their dreams. Most children born in the last decade or so have never known a time without war. COVID-19 has worsened the situation. About 3 million people are stuck in war zones and highly militarised zones, which makes it more difficult for health care workers and welfare organisations to reach them on time.
Within Syria, 95% of people lack adequate healthcare and 70% lack regular access to clean water. Half the children are out of school. Conflict has shattered the economy, and 80% of the population now lives in poverty. Around 2.8 million refugees are children under the age of 18.
People are suffering from cholera and several other diseases. Children are malnourished. Factors like poor housing, cold weather is slowly increasing the risk of pneumonia and other respiratory infections. Poor sanitation is worsening the situation. People miss vaccinations and regular health check-up, especially in cut-off areas. Many refugee children have to work to support their families. Militant groups forcibly recruit children who serve as fighters, human shields, and in support roles to them. They are trained, brainwashed and motivated in the name of Jihad. Syrian children, who are the nation’s hope for a better future have lost loved ones, suffered injuries, missed years of schooling, and experienced unspeakable violence and brutality.
Sexual assault has become more and more common, Syrian children are more vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation in the unfamiliar and overcrowded conditions found in refugee camps and informal tent settlements. Without adequate income to support their families and fearful of their daughters being molested, parents sometimes opt to arrange a marriage for girls, some as young as 13.
A staggering 9.3 million Syrians are now going to sleep hungry and more than another 2 million are at risk of a similar fate, part of an overall rise of 42 percent in the number of Syrians facing food insecurity since last year. Planning for the future, playing with toys and friends, a place to call home, the ability to work, clean drinking water, school, and hospital are fantasies for Syrians. Millions of Syrians have escaped across borders, fleeing the bombs and bullets that have devastated their homes.
Turkey hosts the largest number of registered Syrian refugees – currently 3.6 million. Vast majority of Syrian refugees in the neighbouring countries live in urban areas, with around only 8 per cent accommodated in refugee camps.
In Lebanon, life is a daily struggle for more than a million Syrian refugees, who have little or no financial resources. Around 70 per cent live below the poverty line. There are no formal refugee camps and, as a result, Syrians are scattered throughout more than 2,100 urban and rural communities and locations, often sharing small basic lodgings with other refugee families in overcrowded conditions.
In Jordan, over 655,000 men, women and children are currently trapped in exile. Approximately 80 percent of them live outside camps, while more than 139,000 have found sanctuary at the camps of Za’atari and Azraq. Many have arrived with limited means to cover even basic needs, and those who could at first rely on savings or support from host families are now increasingly in need of help. It is estimated that 93 per cent of refugees in Jordan live below the poverty line.
Iraq has also seen a growing number of Syrians arriving, hosting more than 246,000, while in Egypt UNHCR provides protection and assistance to more than 126,000.
But although life in exile can be difficult, for Syrians still at home it is even harder.
How are the international organizations helping Syria?
UNHCR provides life-saving humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees, helping the most vulnerable with cash for medicine and food, stoves and other basic amenities of life including tents to stay, blankets and winter clothes to cover themselves.
Since 2012 IRC (International Rescue committee) has been providing humanitarian assistance to those uprooted by war. In 2019, the IRC helped more than 900,000 Syrians inside their country. This included more than 112,000 people with job training and cash or vouchers to help them buy food and other essentials,3,500 children with early childhood development activities and more than 100,000 children attended IRC-run safe spaces to play and receive psychosocial support.
Recently in a virtual conference hosted by the United Nations and the European Union, International donors have pledged $7.7bn in humanitarian aid for war-ravaged Syria. Pledges came from countries including Germany, which offered 1.58 billion euros ($1.78bn) and Qatar, promised $100m.
Generally, when a country suffers from humanitarian crisis the matters are internal and whatever happens everything remains inside the suffering nation, but in case of Syria the Humanitarian Crisis caused by years of poor governance, conflicts and civil wars has made Syria world’s largest refugee source. Those who remain inside the staggering nation are internally displaced as half the nation has been severely destroyed and reduced to rubble.
Syria needs help now more than ever.
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