The Condition of Syria’s Refugees

The Syrian conflict has presented itself as a complex situation that has resulted in countless amounts of analysis and news articles dedicated to the political and security aspects of the crisis. Although these writings are indispensable for the ability to understand what is taking place, there hasn’t been enough attention on another aspect of the conflict and that is the issue of the Syrian refugees both inside and outside the country. The following is a summary of the situation of the Syrians that have been internally displaced and the refugees in the neighboring countries.

The number of Syrian refugees has been increasing rapidly in the past year. As of September, the number of refugees reached the two million mark with about 5,000 Syrians fleeing the violence and destruction everyday. A statement released by the United Nations Refugee Agency indicated that the rise of refugees in the last year increased by 1.8 million with about 97 percent of them being hosted by neighboring countries. There are also 4.25 million Syrians that are internally displaced bringing the total number of people who have fled their homes to 6 million and giving them the highest number of people that have been forcibly displaced than any other country. Furthermore, U.N. humanitarian chief Valeria Amos has indicated that a total of 9.3 million Syrians need outside assistance in order to survive. These astonishing numbers were realized after the war began to spill into Syria’s most populated areas. According to UNHCR data, the refugees outside of Syria include 50 percent women and one-third children.

The growth of the number of people escaping Syria has been too fast and too much for the surrounding countries some of which already struggling with stability. The number of Syrians Lebanon is hosting has reached 800,000 while Turkey and Jordan have about half a million refugees within their borders. Iraq and Egypt are also hosting about 100,000 each. A breakdown of the amount of refugees and where they are staying can be found on the UNHCR Inter-Agency Information Sharing Portal. This portal also presents the amount of funding required based on the needs of each country as well as how much has been delivered and what gap still remains. According to the data, about $2.8 billion is needed in funding but only $1.8 billion has been received. The U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon explained that the pledges from major international donors are high but most countries have failed to deliver the full amount pledged.

The Guardian has put together an interactive report detailing which countries have agreed to donate to the Syrian humanitarian crisis, as well as the amounts recorded by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. According to their data, the United Sates still needs to deliver 56 percent of the amount pledged but have promised the largest amount. Other major contributions were promised by the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Canada. Out of these countries only Kuwait has come close to paying the full amount with only 4.2 percent remaining. These numbers do not include donations given to the Syrian humanitarian crisis outside the United Nations fundraising system.

One of the host countries that have experienced the most difficulty is Lebanon. As one of Syria’s smallest neighbors it has accepted the largest amount of refugees making them a quarter of Lebanon’s population of four million. The head of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said, “ The international donors must do more to help Lebanon absorb the flood of refugees straining its schools and public services.” With 400,00 Syrian children in Lebanon the school systems have been especially strained and that amount is expected to double by next year.

Jordan has also experienced some difficulties as it is providing the largest Syrian refugee camp and the second largest in the world.  Located in the north of Jordan, the Zaatari Refugee camp has more than 120,000 people living there. The King of Jordan has previously called for international assistance as the amount of refugees in the country is depleting Jordan of its natural resources. According to the U.N. it will cost Jordan $2.1 billion this year and $3.2 billion for 2014 in order to be able to give the Syrian refugees the humanitarian and development assistance needed.

The Syrian conflict does not look like it will be ending soon and much more assistance will be needed to provide the refugees and internally displaced citizens with the basics to survive. Various countries in Europe are starting to accept refugees and Sweden has recently announced it will provide asylum seekers with permanent residencies. However, even after the conflict ends, how well the refugees readjust and become productive members of the society will be dependent on how the international community copes with the needs of the refugees while the war continues.