Help Strengthen the Resilience of Syrian Refugees

Dear supporter,

As the Syrian war continues into its eight year, Syria Country Director John Kilkenny reflects on all that the Syrian people have endured:

"Over seven years have passed since anti-government demonstrations in the city of Deraa marked the beginning of what would soon be recognized as the Syrian civil war. Looking forward, we see no apparent end in sight to the suffering faced by the civilian population of Syria who continue to be the greatest victims of this brutal conflict.

Despite this, it is an important moment to reflect on the resilience of these same people who continue to eke out their existence against the physical, mental, and emotional challenges they face every day. While the pictures of Syrian refugees arriving on the shores of Europe and in neighboring countries may be the strongest international images we see, it is worth remembering that the largest number of those displaced — more than six million — continue to remain inside Syria itself, some of them trapped in situations that look like medieval sieges, just with the addition of 21^st century weapons.

We talk a lot about resilience in the humanitarian aid world these days — the human ability to bounce back from the most tremendous obstacles. We see this every day in our work in Syria, whether it is the thousands of families who have been recently displaced whose most immediate needs are food and water, or those seeking to maintain their dignity and rebuild lives in camps, or among the host communities that have become their refuge. Our job is to be on hand to help in this process, to provide whatever we can to help people maintain that human dignity: whether through the distribution of food baskets, providing water and sanitation services for those newly displaced, distributing agricultural vouchers to buy seeds and tools, or training them with skills so they can earn a living and feed their own family. 

This is the strange dichotomy we work with in Syria: where people’s needs can vary dramatically according to their particular circumstances, and where, despite the suffering and displacement they have faced, they continue to strive to find a degree of normalcy for themselves and their family. As in so many conflicts, it is the women and children that are often the most vulnerable, and suffer the most. However, working with the women of Syria we have seen the greatest impact for a family at the household level.

There is no doubt that the only solution to the crisis in Syria is a comprehensive, inclusive, political one — but while the search for that continues, we must remember that the Syrian people want the same as most of us: a peaceful, dignified life in which they can achieve their aspirations. The challenges they face in trying to achieve this however, are massively greater than our own. So what can we in the international community do? We can press our own governments to support the search for a political solution to the crisis, and provide the direct assistance to the people of Syria so they can search for their individual futures despite the terrible and immediate challenges they face."

As always, thank you for your generous support, which is allowing us to provide relief to the Syrian people as they do the best to live their lives in abnormal circumstances. 

Dear Supporter,

Thanks to your generous contributions, Concern Worldwide continues to work with Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons in Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey. We provide for basic needs, along with education and psycho-social support, depending on the context and the needs. Today, I would like to highlight our work to upgrade Informal Tented Settlements in Lebanon.

With 1.5 million Syrian refugees taking shelter in the country, Lebanon is currently housing the highest per capita number of Syrian refugees based on its population size. By the end of 2017, 36% of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon reported having no member in their family currently employed, which resulted in negative coping strategies, such as living on credit and borrowing excessively. This statistic highlights the vulnerability of Syrian refugees, and to further emphasize the point, 91% of Syrians in Lebanon describe themselves at food insecure.  

Fatima* and her mother, who is ill, fled to Lebanon to escape violence in Syria. They currently live in tents in an Informal Tented Settlement (ITS) in North-West Lebanon, about a 90-minute drive from the heavily damaged Syrian city of Homs. They had both hoped that an escape from Syria would lead to a better life, but they now find themselves struggling to survive.

“I was living in heaven before and now it feels like I am in hell,” Fatima says.

“The hardest thing about my life is getting the money to buy bread and medication for my mother, not to mention the rent for the tent. I work five days a week in agriculture and barely make enough. There is nothing harder than this life.”

When Concern Worldwide arrived to assess the settlement, we noted that the welfare of the settlement’s inhabitants was severely negatively impacted by the muddy and impassible paths and roads. The whole settlement was left isolated from relief services due to the conditions of the paths, as sanitation services, water, and mobile clinic vehicles were unable to access the site. Young children were socially ostracized from going to school due to their muddy feet and were forced to wear plastic bags around their shoes.

“I felt like we were isolated from the world.” Fatima said.

In order to address the problems in the settlement, Concern provided the refugees support to gravel the path, allowing life-changing services to access the community for the first time. The access has made it much easier for Fatima’s mother to access the medical care that she needs, and has allowed the children of the settlement to attend school with clean feet. While providing an informal tented settlement with gravel might seem like a simple thing to do, Fatima explained to Concern staff that the pathways have changed their lives.

Despite improved conditions in the settlement, Fatima still longs to return to her homeland once the violence has receded. Thanks in part to your contributions, Fatima and her mother can live in improved comfort today while retaining their hope for a better future.

*Name changed for security purposes