MercyCorps has put together an excellent overview of the key facts about the Syrian refugee crisis.
A must read!
Quick Facts: What You Need to Know About the Syrian Refugee Crisis
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Category Archives: News Coverage of Syria
Humanitarian Aid to Syria in Crisis
“With hopes for comprehensive peace talks in the immediate future nearly quashed, groups monitoring the ongoing crisis in Syria say more attention needs to be paid to the intractable dilemma of delivering humanitarian aid to the country.
More than nine million people currently require immediate assistance in Syria, the United Nations said recently, many of them suffering from a lack of food, water, and basic medical supplies as winter edges closer.
But aid workers cannot reach them, monitors say, largely because the Syrian government has restricted access…”
Read the full article in The Huffington Post.
The Dire Situation in Aleppo
For an in-depth understanding of the state of the humanitarian crisis — in this case, in the Syrian city of Aleppo, you can read this detailed Joint Rapid Assessment of Northern Syria – Aleppo City Assessment (PDF).
Video Interview with Dr. Saleyha Ahsan
This SBS Dateline video interview features Dr. Saleyha Ahsan, an emergency doctor from London, talking about her experiences in Syria.
Exit Syria – Diaries from Zaatari
An Australian documentary follows the daily lives of some of the Syrian refugees now living in a sprawling Za’atari refugee camp on the Jordanian border. Here’s how they describe it:
It’s been described as one of the worst humanitarian disasters of our time, the greatest refugee crisis since World War II. Since erupting two and a half years ago, the war in Syria has claimed some 100,000 lives and caused an exodus to a scale not seen in decades. So far, millions of Syrians have been displaced and poured into neighbouring countries to live in makeshift camps under extremely harsh conditions. Za’atari is such a place. Rough, dusty, barren, the refugee camp, located on the border of Syria and Jordan is fast growing into a metropolis and now accommodates around 120,000 people. For the families struggling to survive the conditions of the desert camp – what is daily life like for them? This diary takes you right inside the refugee camp. Over the next four weeks, our crew will immerse themselves in Za’atari, giving you unprecedented insight into the lives of three refugees who agreed to share their stories – stories of resourcefulness, ingenuity and resilience in the most extraordinary circumstances.
Photo Gallery from the Zaatari Refugee Camp
Reporter/photographer Will Wintercross has an excellent photo gallery of pictures from the Za’atari refugee camp, which houses thousands of refugees from Syria.
Inside Bab al-Hawa Hospital, Doctors Struggle with Wounded of Syria
Bab al-Hawa Hospital in northern Syria near the Turkish border, serves Syria’s wounded from what was once an immigration and customs building.
This Australian report describes the situation at the hospital.
Here’s an excerpt:
“The hospital, which reeked of blood, on average, treats around 40 patients a day, mainly as a result from shelling and bombings in the Idlib province. Eighty per cent of patients are civilians – the majority children.”
Doctor Describes Humanitarian Nightmare In Syria
“The humanitarian situation is a nightmare. Their medical system has entirely collapsed. People are exposed to conflict and injuries from the war…”
– Brian D’Cruz, MD
Here & Now’s Robin Young interviews Dr. Brian D’Cruz, a Virginia-based emergency physician, after his return from two months in Idlib province in northern Syria with Doctors Without Borders.
This is an excellent radio interview, as well as an article outlining Dr. D’Cruz’s experiences, broadcast and published 7 November 2013.
When Do No Harm Hurts
David Keen, in this 6 November 2013 op-ed in the New York Times, When ‘Do No Harm’ Hurts, makes an excellent point:
“…funding for humanitarian aid in Syria continues to fall far short of appeals, and opportunities for helping local councils and a variety of Syrian relief organizations continue to be missed. So too, crucially, does the opportunity for cross-border relief (notably from Turkey). As in most humanitarian emergencies, United Nations agencies have been putting their faith in delivering aid to rebel areas via government-held areas. But as happened so often in the past, the assumption of government cooperation has proved overly optimistic…
40 percent of Syrians Need Humanitarian Aid Says UN
A 4 November 2013 article by Reuters says:
The United Nations estimates that around 9.3 million people in Syria or about 40 percent of the population need humanitarian assistance due to the country’s 2-1/2-year civil war, the U.N. humanitarian office said on Monday.
Palmyra Relief 