UN refugee agency issues renewed funding plea for Syria, as conflict enters seventh year

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9 March 2017 – Unless drastic measures are taken to share up peace and security in Syria, the situation &#8211 which marks its sixth anniversary next week &#8211 will worsen, the United Nations refugee agency today said urging the international community to redouble its support for the 13.5 million people in need of aid.

&#8220Funding won’t end the suffering. But it is one thing we can do as poverty and misery intensify. The resources currently available simply don’t come close to meeting all the challenges,&#8221 said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for RefugeesFunding won’t end the suffering. But it is one thing we can do as poverty and misery intensify..

His message comes ahead of 15 and 16 March, when in 2011 authorities clamped down on demonstrations in Damascus, setting off protests calling for the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.

Since then, nearly 6.3 million people were displaced and an additional 4.9 million people &#8211 mostly women and children &#8211 were forced to seek refuge, according to UN figures. Nearly 3 million Syrians under the age of five have grown up knowing nothing but conflict.

&#8220Ultimately, Syria’s conflict isn’t about numbers &#8211 it’s about people,&#8221 Grandi added. &#8220Families have been torn apart, innocent civilians killed, houses destroyed, businesses and livelihoods shattered. It’s a collective failure.&#8221

One of those people is Wafaa Keyari, an eight-year-old girl from the battered Sakhour district of eastern Aleppo.

Living now in a temporary shelter on the outskirts of Aleppo, Wafaa was severely burned on her face and body when her house was shelled two years ago.

&#8220I was taken to hospital. I was awake and they treated me,&#8221 Wafaa told UNHCR.

&#8220You know I was wearing wool clothes, like the ones I am wearing now, they got stuck to me. When they took me to the hospital, they were pulling them off my skin. It hurt so much, they didn’t even use anaesthetic &#8211 they just pulled it off.&#8221

Asked whether the incident had changed her at all, she paused for a moment before replying with a smile: &#8220No. I am still the same nice girl.&#8221

In the shadow of the sad anniversary, the international community is preparing for a conference in Brussels in early April to assess the country’s future. The UN is seeking $8 billion for this year to meet the needs of Syrians in the country and those living abroad.

According to UNHCR, the request follows commitments made at the 2016 London Conference, especially on education and livelihoods.

&#8220Syria is at a crossroads,&#8221 Mr. Grandi said. &#8220Unless drastic measures are taken to shore up peace and security for Syria, the situation will worsen.&#8221

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