Wednesday 13 March 2013
Update on the Disaster Emergency Relief award made to UNICEF UK on 30th January 2013 to support Syrian refugee children displaced because of the ongoing conflict in Syria
On 30 January 2013, the Guernsey Overseas Aid Commission (the Commission) agreed to make a contribution of £25,000 from its Disaster Emergency Relief budget to UNICEF for its work supporting refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria.
In agreeing to support this request, the Commissioners were mindful that the situation in Syria appears to have significantly worsened since the start of 2013 and the number of refugees crossing the Syrian borders into Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iran has risen dramatically in the preceding two weeks.
On Tuesday 12 March 2013, the Commission received the following update on the situation in Jordan from UNICEF UK's Chief Executive, David Bull,
"I am writing to you from Jordan, where I am visiting children and their families affected by the escalating conflict in Syria. I am sorry our conversation today has had to be reorganised, but meanwhile I thought I should give you an update by email. I hope you will share this with the Commissioners, together with my thanks and appreciation for the contribution that Guernsey has made to UNICEF's response to the crisis affecting the children of Syria.
Last week, the arrival of the millionth refugee marked a grim milestone in this tragic crisis, and this week it will be two years since the conflict began. Since January alone, more than 420,000 refugees have fled to one of Syria's neighbouring countries to escape the fighting. Half of all refugees are children; many of whom have suffered great loss and witnessed horrific violence.
Yesterday I returned to Za'atari Camp - it is three times bigger than when I was last here less than 4 months ago. Yet the numbers of new arrivals have accelerated. Last night there were 1,200. I just met a mother and 5 children who told me they had been warned of an attack on their village and had left immediately only to see their house destroyed - the only home the children (from 5 to 13) had ever known. They have lost everything and it took two gruelling days to reach the border and safety. The youngest boy has a fever. This is a similar story as you can hear every few yards if you stop to talk to the families. For some children it is worse - we heard of schools where teachers had been killed in front of their pupils.
UNICEF is working day and night to reach children affected and provide vital help. We are providing children in Syria and refugee children in neighbouring countries with safe drinking water, essential vaccines and nutrition, education, clothing and other vital support.
At least in Za'atari the children can go to school, drink clean water, and get medical attention. But the psychological damage will be harder to overcome and could lead to a cycle of hatred and anger. But today I saw young boys learning how to deal with their anger and they gave me a ribbon with the Arabic slogan "say no to violence". This psychosocial support work is so important if we are to avoid a lost generation and an endless cycle of violence.
Today I visited Irbid, a city in Jordan which is host to tens of thousands of Syrian refugees who are living with host families. I met a family, mother and four children, who had arrived from Syria only two weeks ago. "Distressed, confused and distracted" is how the mother described the family's state of mind as she told us how she decided to leave when her children's school was hit by an air strike, killing some teachers and pupils. Thanks to the help of UNICEF and the local community the children will now be able to go to school in safety in Jordan. I visited the local school, where 850 local students have now been joined by 749 Syrian refugee children, so the school has to teach in two shifts each day.
I have been incredibly impressed by the energy and courage of our UNICEF teams working here and across the region. The needs are great, however, and chronic underfunding is threatening the delivery of UNICEF's vital humanitarian work both within Syria and in surrounding countries.
Thanks to the generosity of supporters, including Guernsey, UNICEF UK has already been able to make a fantastic contribution to this appeal but we need to do so much more. Only 20% of the funds needed to sustain our work until the end of June has been found."
The picture is of one of the many young children who has sought refugee with her family in Irbid in Jordan. She is receiving her UNICEF school bag and will now be able to join the school in Jordan.
