Pity the Nation*

Makeshift tents adjacent to the Syrian border

Last week I was in Lebanon working with our teams who are planning the scale-up of WV's current response to the Syria crisis.   It is hard to understate the scale of human tragedy resulting from the ongoing civil war in Syria.  It is estimated that more than 1 million refugees have now crossed into Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey with another 2.5 million people displaced internally within Syria.  Conditions within Syria continue to deteriorate as the civil war continues between the Assad Government regime, the free Syrian army and various other armed opposition groups.  During the week we visited the northern and eastern border regions of Lebanon and Syria and met with a number of refugee families and communities. I heard many tragic stories of suffering and of desperate conditions within Syria, and it was confronting to meet with families who have children just like mine, but who have lost absolutely everything.  Many of the children we met were cold, hungry and traumatised.  Emergency aid is being delivered by World Vision, the UN and a range of other agencies, but the growing needs far outstrip the available resources, both outside and within Syria itself.

An earlier map.  Since this map was produced, refugee
numbers have risen significantly as the conflict has
worsened

There are no official 'camps' in Lebanon, as this is highly controversial from a political standpoint, so instead the Syrian refugee families have been accommodated in Lebanese villages and towns and are often living in very basic conditions with host families or vacant communal spaces.  Towns and cities close to the border regions are at full capacity, and many refugees are now venturing further to Beirut and other locations across the country. In addition to pressing humanitarian needs, the influx of large numbers of Syrian refugees also brings with it significant political and security issues.  The arrival of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon during 1948 and also 1967, and the subsequent conflict within Lebanon is not too distant a memory.  These Palestinian groups are still accommodated in camps within Lebanon to this day.  

On the Jordanian border the picture looks somewhat different but no less challenging, with many refugees being settled in large camps in addition to being hosted by local Jordanian communities. 

Access and 'humanitarian space' for international organisations to operate in Syria is very limited at present, but a number of local Syrian organisations and churches continue to be very active in providing support on the ground.  Last week we met with a number of these groups, and heard some remarkable stories of how communities are mobilising and organising themselves to provide makeshift medical, food, shelter, schooling and other emergency services.  This local activism and community mobilisation has been evidenced in many places across Syria.  One group told us how various Syrian churches are providing meals and other life saving support to thousands of muslim families currently accommodated in mosques and other emergency shelters.  The group's response when asked how best to help in Syria? "Help the Christians to help the Muslims".  

The fabric of Syrian society has collapsed, but it is a powerful and humbling thing to see groups across the spectrum of faith supporting each other in this way.  

WV 'Child Friendly Spaces' provide support for
refugee children affected by the conflict.

There are a range of different scenarios that could play out in Syria and its neighbouring countries over the next 6-12 months, most of them not pretty. The most likely outcome in Syria is that the human catastrophe will continue until the Assad regime collapses, after which the country may well be divided along ethnic and religious lines.  Syria's disintegration could also further 'Balkanise' the Middle East, which may unleash more violence. Neighbouring countries like Lebanon and Jordan may find it increasingly difficult to remain aloof from a disintegrating Syria, and the influx of such large numbers of Syrian refugees has the potential to upset an already precarious power balance and spark further conflict.  

When we met last week with the Syriac Orthodox Archbishop in Beirut, his final words were:

"No one knows the future in Syria, but God know's the future.  So we have to trust in Him.  May God have mercy on us".

*with apologies to Robert Fisk, author of 'Pity the Nation, Lebanon at War'

Emergency accommodation for refugees in
the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

Emergency shelter for a family of six