For Syrians, this Saturday marks three years of conflict. Three years in which 9 million people have become displaced, 2.5 million have become refugees and over 100,000 Syrians have been killed. The numbers are overwhelming but one fact is simple - Syrians continue to need our help.
Generous New Zealanders have already donated over $2 million in response to the crisis. NGO Disaster Relief Forum (NDRF) Chairperson Ian McInnes says Kiwis can feel proud of what has been achieved by the agencies they have donated to. The New Zealand government has also contributed $12.5million, including funding to New Zealand NGOs.
With this money, Mr McInnes says hundreds of thousands of traumatised refugees in surrounding nations have been sheltered, fed, kept warm and received psycho-social support. “But we need to do more. The number of civilians killed and refugees fleeing into the neighbouring countries of Lebanon, Jordon, Iraq and Turkey increases every day. Dealing with the scale and devastation of this brutal conflict has been a huge challenge for aid workers and agencies in the field. We are working with people who have had their world turned upside down.”
NDRF’s Mark Mitchell who recently returned from Lebanon paints a graphic picture of the conditions people face as they flee violence and endure long harrowing journeys to cross the border. “Families escaping the violence are forced to give up everything. But even after they reach relative safety they have limited access to the basics; shelter, food and water. People are really struggling.”
More than two and a half million people have fled Syria since the start of the crisis and 80 per cent of those are women and children. It is estimated that up to five million young Syrians are at risk of becoming a ‘lost generation’ because they are being deprived of their education, despite some NGOs and host countries providing double shifts at school to cater for large numbers of children.
“The toll of this crisis is measured by the growing suffering of Syrian people, most of whom have used up their own reserves. Every effort must be made to reach a ceasefire and ensure immediate, safe and permanent access for humanitarian relief to reach all those who need it within Syria. We must also continue to provide support for the host communities in neighbouring countries where millions of Syrians have fled,” says Mr McInnes.
Mr McInnes says all the agencies that have responded to the crisis are still receiving donations for their on-going and essential work among Syrian refugees.
At a glance: agency achievements
Christian World Service
• 26,000 parcels distributed including food, non food items, including infant and children’s clothing, hygiene kits, blankets – Jordan
• Health, nutrition, medical and psychosocial support to refugees in Jordan and Lebanon
Caritas
• Providing immediate relief items to assist communities with their day-to-day survival, e.g. blankets, stoves, fuel, clothing
• Providing transport to school for children, rental accommodation assistance
• Psycho-social support
• Domestic violence prevention activities
Oxfam
• In Lebanon, safe housing and grants for Palestinian refugees that fled Syria as well as psycho-social support to women
• Non-Food Item (NFI) distribution (clothes, mattresses, blankets, heaters, rugs, kitchen utensils, hygiene kits and plastic sheets) for Syrian refugees in Lebanon before winter season
• Provision to 20,000 Syrian refugees in Za’atari camp in Jordan with access to water, latrines, showers and hygiene training to prevent diseases and recently completed shower, toilet and laundry blocks to reach additional 8,000
• Inside Syria, installation of four truck-sized generators to power two water treatment plants in Damascus and Damascus Province reaching more than 500,000 people
TEAR Fund
• Winterisation in Lebanon: winter kits to 2,200 vulnerable Syrian refugee families
• Child protection in Northern Iraq for 2,000 refugee children at the Arbat Camp
UNICEF
In Syria, plus Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt for Syrian refugees:
• Vaccination programmes (including Polio) and provision of nutrition supplies
• Water and Sanitation: Provision of water containers, tanks, purification tablets
• Education: Provision of school supplies, temporary schools (tents)
• Child Protection: Psychosocial support services to traumatised children
World Vision
• NZDRP project on providing winter clothing to children in Lebanon
• Employed a puppet company to provide education for children in refugee camps
• In Jordan implementing a drainage system in the Zaatari refugee camp
• Working in partnership with the World Food Programme in Lebanon providing e-food vouchers
• Generally working towards issues that children are being affected with, such as child friendly spaces as a key part of their response
