The Middle East faces a "staggering" humanitarian crisis caused
by the Syria war and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is
today calling on the outside world to step up its response.
With more than 600,000
Syrians having fled the country, the group labels international aid as
"drastically insufficient" for a "steadily worsening"
crisis.
In addition to those
who have left the country, at least two million people have been internally
displaced within Syria.
The IRC, a global leader
in humanitarian assistance for 80 years, portrays the level of rape and sexual
violence occurring in the conflict as "horrific."
It says many refugees
are citing rape as the main reason they left Syria and describes it as a major
feature of the war. It is often committed in front of family members.
Here is the group’s press release:
Nearly two years into the
Syria war, the region faces a staggering humanitarian disaster, requiring the
international community to urgently scale up planning and funding for what is
certain to be a long-term regional crisis, says the IRC’s Commission on Syrian
Refugees.
“The Middle East is
once again facing a human displacement tragedy,” the commission states in its
new report, Syria: A
Regional Crisis.
“Current assistance
levels are drastically insufficient to address existing needs, let alone the
barest requirements to respond to a lengthy humanitarian emergency and
post-conflict recovery.”
As of today, more than
600,000 Syrians have fled to overburdened neighboring countries and the UN
anticipates the number could soon exceed one million if the exodus continues at
its current pace of about 3,000 refugees a day. Inside Syria, more than two
million civilians are displaced and the UN estimates that four million are in
dire need of assistance.
Inside Syria:
Struggling to Survive
Based on interviews
with refugees, the IRC report says Syrian civilians are struggling to survive
in communities besieged by violence, chaos and destruction. Entire
neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble. Fleeing families face recurring
displacement amid a moving frontline. Supplies of food, water and electricity
have sharply dwindled, sanitation in many areas has halted, increasing the
threat of disease, yet medical care has become scarce.
Partner organizations
that provide emergency medical services and supplies inside Syria say the
health care system has been decimated. Syrian physicians described to the
IRC “a systematic campaign to restrict access to lifesaving care through the
strategic bombing and forced closure of medical facilities” and “intimidation,
torture and the targeted killing of doctors in retribution for treating the
wounded.”
The report also details
horrific levels of sexual violence, describing “rape as a significant and
disturbing feature of the Syrian civil war.”
In the course of three
IRC assessments in Lebanon and Jordan, Syrians identified rape as a primary
reason their families fled the country. “Many women and girls relayed accounts
of being attacked in public or in their homes, primarily by armed men. These
rapes, sometimes by multiple perpetrators, often occur in front of family members,”
the report states. The IRC was also told of attacks in which women and girls
were kidnapped, raped, tortured and killed.
Because of the stigma
and social norms around the “dishonor” that rape brings to women and girls and
their families, Syrian survivors rarely report rape. Many interviewed by the
IRC also said survivors fear retribution by their assailants, being killed by
“shamed” family members, or in the case of girls, being married off at an early
age “to safeguard their honor.”
For survivors who
manage to flee, there is a shortage of medical and counseling services to help
them recover in the communities where they have settled and even there,
challenges continue. Many women and girls face unsafe conditions in refugee
camps as well as elevated levels of domestic violence.
The Refugee Crisis
Every day, thousands of
Syrians who can no longer bear the violence and hardship at home stream into
Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and increasingly North Africa to find safe haven.
About 30 percent settle in refugee camps. And while the international
community allocates the bulk of its limited resources to these camps, many
remain overcrowded, overstretched and unprepared for the brutal winter.
The vast majority of
Syrians who have fled (100 percent in Lebanon and about 80 percent in Jordan,
50 percent in Iraq and 30 percent in Turkey) are now “urban refugees”. “Even
though 70 percent of Syria’s refugees live outside of camps in urban and rural
areas, there is a dearth of funding for programs to assist them,” says George
Rupp, the IRC’s president, who led the commission visit to the region in
November. “As a result, Syrian refugees not living in camps are grossly
underserved and growing increasingly destitute and desperate.”
Multiple families crowd
into small rented rooms and apartments in disrepair or schools and other spaces
provided by host governments. Others squat in unused spaces in poor districts
that lack the capacity to assist them.
Many refugees arrive
with war wounds and illnesses, yet struggle to access health care. Most flee
with few belongings and little money, have seen their finances dwindle and can
no longer afford food, clothing and other basics. Unable to work legally in
most host countries, many have taken loans and are in deepening debt.
The IRC heard accounts
of desperate women trading sex for food, children being forced to work in
exploitative or dangerous jobs and families selling girls into early marriage
to reduce household numbers or pay rent.
The IRC is stepping up
cash assistance programs for non-camp refugees in Jordan and Lebanon to help
pay for daily expenses, but the needs remain immense.
Syrian children and
youth have been gravely impacted by the violence and upheaval of their
families. Nearly every child will speak about witnessing family members
attacked or killed and many children have been caught in the crossfire or
targeted with violence.
Many Syrian children
have already missed up to two years of their education because of the unrest.
And schooling for thousands of refugee children remains interrupted because
classes in host communities are full and unable to absorb more refugee
students. For those fortunate enough to attend school, most teachers are ill
equipped to assist such traumatized children and specialized services are largely
unavailable.
The influx of hundreds
of thousands of Syrian refugees is seriously straining the limited resources of
countries generously taking them in and tension between host and refugee
communities is rising. Urban refugees, in particular, are saturating housing
markets, leading to steep rent increases for both refugees and locals.
Commodity prices are up
and wages are down. Health, water, sanitation and education systems are
struggling to cope. Countries in the region have been spending their own money
to respond to the exodus and are now overtly asking for help.
Iraq is also grappling
with the return of 60,000 Iraqi refugees from Syria. “These countries feel
neglected by the international community and saddled with an immense burden
that has no end in sight,” the report says.
A Protracted
Humanitarian Emergency
The IRC report asserts
that the Syria crisis will be a protracted humanitarian emergency: “An end to
the civil war will not necessarily end sectarian violence; indeed the violence
could well increase. Recovery, reconciliation and political transition will be
fraught with challenges and could take years. Every country in the region is
unsettled by the prospect of hostilities spilling over their borders. They fear
continuing refugee influxes could create internal instability or exacerbate simmering
or historical tensions.
“Even if the conflict
comes to a swift end, Syria will emerge in ruins -- its social and civic fabric
in shreds, its economic foundation and infrastructure devastated and its
population scattered throughout the region -- potentially unable for months if
not years to return to shattered communities.”
“Donors need to
step up, recognize the severity of the humanitarian crisis in and around Syria
and face the virtual inevitability that this is going to get much worse and
last much longer than initially anticipated,” says Sir John Holmes, commission
member, Co-Chair of the IRC-UK Board of Trustees and director of the Ditchley
Foundation.
The IRC’s Commission on Syrian refugees makes
the following recommendations
Increase humanitarian aid:
Donor governments must urgently meet the UN funding appeal for $1.5 billion to
aid uprooted Syrians and significantly ramp up bilateral assistance to
countries absorbing refugees to help offset the strain on their infrastructure
and mitigate growing tension.
Maintain open borders:
Host countries must keep their borders open to endangered Syrian civilians and
continue offering them safe haven. “Buffer zones,” which have a poor record of
effectiveness, are difficult to protect and create a false sense of security
for civilians living in them, should be discouraged.
Expand international assistance inside
Syria: The international community must expand
partnerships with Syrian organizations that provide lifesaving assistance
throughout Syria. Channeling aid to such groups is essential now and must be
maintained in a post-conflict phase. Access must also be granted or improved
for international aid groups that can provide emergency and recovery aid for Syrians
and other vulnerable groups inside Syria, including Palestinian and Iraqi
refugees.
Prepare for a protracted humanitarian
emergency: The international community must put financial
diplomatic and logistical plans in place for a regional humanitarian crisis
that could last years, given the scale of displacement and destruction and the
risk of regional instability and increased sectarian violence. Preparations
must be made for a mass exodus of refugees, should there be a sudden escalation
of the crisis. UNHCR and donors should also discuss resettlement options for
extremely vulnerable refugees.
Scale up programs for “urban refugees”:
While camp-based Syrian refugees require improved and ongoing support, it is
vital that international donors vastly increase resources for programs that aid
refugees living outside camps and bolster the infrastructure of over-extended
host communities. Major investment is needed to help hospitals and clinics
treat thousands of extra patients daily and to expand cash assistance programs
so that urban refugees can afford food, rent and other essentials for their
survival. UNHCR should continue to expand registration sites to ensure that all
refugees who want to register can, and that those who are afraid to register
can still access available assistance.
Address violence against Syrian women and
girls: Funding must be increased for programs that
prevent and respond to violence against women and girls, inside and outside of
camps. This includes clinical care and emotional support for survivors,
improving safety in camps, minimizing survival sex, forced marriage, and
domestic violence and providing economic aid so that women do not revert to
exploitative jobs.
Invest in children’s safety and healing:
Programs must focus on identifying and providing tailored support for harmed or
at risk children, including psychosocial support, aid for separated children
and prevention of abuse, child labor and recruitment into armed groups. Local
educators and health workers need special training in caring for
violence-affected children. It is critical that Syrian refugee children are
able to return to school and programs meet the minimum standards for education
in emergencies.
The
full report is available at www.Rescue.org/syriacrisis and www.rescue-uk.org/syria-report
