Many Syrian refugees living outside camps across countries in the region are losing out on the help they desperately need, according to five international aid agencies today.

Takoma Park, Maryland — CARE International, Oxfam, Danish Refugee Council, Handicap International and World Vision are increasingly concerned that with more than 1.4 million – 80 percent of all Syrian refugees – living in tents, temporary settlements, or over-crowded and expensive rented accommodation, the international response is failing to match the scale of the crisis.

Neighboring countries are struggling to cope with the huge number of refugees. In Lebanon Syrians make up a quarter of the population¹ and are living in at least 1,200 locations. Just 131,000 of the half a million refugees who fled to Jordan are living in Zaatari camp.  Many refugees, particularly those scattered outside cities across the region, struggle to get information on the support services that are available to them.

The aid agencies say that the international community must massively step up its response to the growing crisis.

"People are living in shopping centers, empty garages or make-shift tents on derelict land. They are struggling to survive on little or nothing, and many are falling through the cracks. With no immediate end in sight to the conflict the problem will only get worse. The UN describes this as the biggest refugee crisis since the Rwandan genocide in 1994 and we need to make sure assistance reaches refugees no matter where they are,” said Oxfam’s Syria Response manager, Colette Fearon.

The aid agencies are calling on donor countries to dig deep and find more money to help them scale up the humanitarian response, particularly in Jordan and Lebanon which are hosting more than a million refugees between them. There is also a growing need to support host communities and governments, where basic services are coming under pressure from increased use.

At the same time, almost seven million people – a third of the population – are desperately in need of aid inside Syria.

In June the UN launched its largest ever humanitarian appeal for $5 billion to support the Syria crisis but has only received 36 percent of the money required.

Due to the huge number of people fleeing the conflict, refugees are pursuing whatever options they can to find shelter. Many arrive with just the clothes on their backs and need help to cover basic costs such as food, safe drinking water and a roof over their heads.

Health care has become a luxury that many cannot afford. For people with injuries, the situation is especially critical as the lack of available services often leads to further impairments.  Vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and persons with disabilities or chronic disease, do not have access to essential services, unless they are offered by organizations like Handicap International.

According to World Vision, rents in parts of Lebanon have soared, often by as much as 200 percent in just a six month period. Though rents are increasing, employment opportunities and pay have not kept pace. In Lebanon, where refugees are prohibited from working in many professions, jobs that are available are usually poorly-paid and offer little or no security. While some agencies, including CARE International and Oxfam, are offering cash support to help refugees pay their rent, this is not a long-term solution.

“People left Syria with nothing and are trying to carve out a new life for themselves. But they are starting from scratch and everything is expensive. Many are getting into increasing debt in order to survive,” said Hugh Fenton, Danish Refugee Council Regional Director in North Africa and the Middle East.

“The international response so far has failed to meet the basic needs of the majority of the refugees, putting them at risk of further hardship and suffering. We need donor countries to dig deep and increase funding so aid agencies can expand their relief efforts. With the number of refugees rising and their needs increasing, it is critical the international community do more to fill the funding gap that is preventing us helping more people: failure to do so could be catastrophic."

The agencies also say fears are mounting of the impact of poor living conditions on refugees’ health. Even amongst those refugees living in rented accommodation, few have access to running water or a separate toilet or bathroom and those living in tents have limited sanitation facilities, increasing the risks of disease particularly given temperatures regularly reach 110F (40C). In Jordan, more than a quarter of refugee households in the Mafraq region have no access to water, while some children living in a tent community in West Balqa could only bathe once every 10 days.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The Lebanese Government estimates that there are one million Syrians in Lebanon, 650,000 of whom are refugees registered or in the process of registering with UNHCR. The remainder include groups such as migrant workers and their families, professionals and students who are unable to return to Syria.

To interview Handicap International experts, please contact:
Mica Bevington (240) 450-3531

All other media enquiries: please contact Lindsay Clydesdale, Oxfam media officer, +961 76 740 489 or [email protected]

Interviews, pictures and film are available on request.

CARE International has reached about 110,000 Syrians in Jordan, providing cash assistance to pay for basic living costs, including rent, food and clothes, essential relief items and vital information on how to access further health care and social support. In addition, CARE supports Jordanian host communities. In Lebanon, CARE is planning to meet approximately 150,000 refugees’ and vulnerable host communities’ basic and pressing needs. In Egypt, they aim to reach at least 20,000 refugees with cash support and assistance on sexual and gender based violence.

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has a long history in the region and is currently present in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. More than 550,000 displaced people have received assistance from DRC in the region in the first six months of 2013, more than 300,000 of those inside Syria. DRC’s assistance includes distribution of mattresses, blankets, clothes, hygiene kits, diapers, food and fuel coupons as well as help with shelter and livelihoods.

Handicap International has worked in the Near East since 1987 around development, mine action and emergency activities. Its emergency division is currently working in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan to provide food, non-food items and cash assistance to 80,000 vulnerable persons affected by the Syrian crisis. To date, Handicap International has also identified more than 8,500 people with specific needs (disabilities, injuries, chronic diseases and ageing), channeling them to humanitarian services and providing them with specialized assistance, such as essential physical rehabilitation, prosthesis, mobility devices and psychosocial services.

Oxfam is providing aid to those affected by the crisis in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. To date they have helped more than 250,000 people and plan to help 650,000 by the end of this year. In Lebanon and Jordan, Oxfam is providing vulnerable families with cash assistance to help them afford a place to live and improving access to safe water and sanitation. Infrastructure inside Syria has been badly damaged by the ongoing conflict and Oxfam has started work to provide emergency water and sanitation to up to 300,000 people throughout the country.

World Vision has worked in the region for more than 30 years and is responding to the needs of people fleeing the conflict, in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. World Vision is reaching more than 220,000 people across the three countries with health services, emergency supplies, clean water, sanitation and child protection support.

Takoma Park, Maryland — Fighting in Syria has forced more than 1.6 million people to flee the country and bordering nations, including Jordan and Lebanon, each expect to host one million Syrian refugees by the end of 2013. Today, on this World Refugee Day, Handicap International is reiterating its serious concerns about the lack of resources available to adequately support these refugees. Handicap International calls on international funding bodies and the United Nations to provide the appropriate resources and coordination to meet both current and future needs.

"Imagine what this influx of a population, with all its needs, represents," says Thierry-Mehdi Benlahsen, Handicap International's Regional Emergency Response Coordinator. “Hospitals are at breaking point, there is a serious lack of accommodation, and the quite exceptional solidarity shown by the inhabitants of the host countries may well reach its limits if the international community does not provide an appropriate response to the situation.”

“In the best case scenario, the funding made available by the international community will cover the needs identified four months ago," says Benlahsen. "In the meantime, the situation has deteriorated and the NGOs do not have the resources they need to cope."

Worldwide, at the beginning of 2012, 15 million people had been forced to leave their home countries in the wake of a natural disaster or conflict. In recent statements, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has warned that this figure could reach a record high due to the crisis in Syria.

Handicap International has been working with Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon since the summer of 2012 and inside Syria itself since the beginning of 2013. The organization provides rehabilitation care to people with injuries and disabilities and raises awareness about the risks of unexploded ordnance.

“Every day our staff bears witness to the incredible suffering of displaced Syrians, many of whom have devastating injuries and post-traumatic stress,” says Elizabeth MacNairn, executive director of Handicap International’s US office. “We’re calling on the international community to commit the necessary resources to care for these extremely vulnerable people and to work to end the conflict in Syria once and for all.”

About Handicap International
Co-winner of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, Handicap International is an independent international aid organization. It has been working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster for 30 years. Working alongside persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, our actions and testimony focus on responding to their essential needs, improving their living conditions, and promoting respect for their dignity and basic rights. Since 1982, Handicap International has set up development programs in more than 60 countries and intervenes in numerous emergency situations. The network of eight national associations (Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States) works constantly to mobilize resources, jointly manage projects and to increase the impact of the organization's principles and actions. Handicap International is one of six founding organizations of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, and winner of the 2011 Hilton Humanitarian Prize. Handicap International takes action and campaigns in places where “standing tall” is no easy task.

Contacts
Mica Bevington, Director of Marketing and Communications
Handicap International US
+1 (240) 450-3531
[email protected]

Molly Feltner, Marketing and Communications Officer
Handicap International US
+1 (240) 450-3528
[email protected]

"Dig deep" for Syrian refugees

The Syria Crisis

Jordan hosts more than 672,000 Syrian refugees fleeing conflict. Many arrive having experienced grievous injuries and mental trauma. 

In April 2014, a survey conducted in Lebanon and Jordan by Humanity & Inclusion, working in collaboration with HelpAge International, found that 5.7% of refugees–more than 90,000 people–had serious injuries. Moreover, in three out of four cases these injuries will lead to a permanent disability due to their severity and the lack of medical attention. Read the Hidden victims of the Syrian crisis report.

Help Syrian refugees—including those with disabilities and injuries—today.

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Humanity & Inclusion in Jordan

Humanity & Inclusion has operated in Jordan since 2006. Our 48-person team provides rehabilitation services to people with disabilities or those injured during the Syrian conflict who have fled to Jordan. Across the country, the organization promotes better recognition of the rights of people with disabilities through inclusive education and livelihood projects.

Areas of Intervention

• Rehabilitation
• Early detection of disabilities
• Inclusive humanitarian action
• Inclusive employment
• Inclusive education
• Disability rights advocacy

Since the summer of 2012, Humanity & Inclusion has been working alongside Syrian refugees and people with disabilities in Jordan.

The organization provides rehabilitation services, including physical therapy and orthopedic equipment services, to people with disabilities or injuries at partner hospitals. The team also provides training to local staff in rehabilitation, as well as mental health and psychosocial support.

Humanity & Inclusion also focus on early detection and early intervention of disabilities among children in order to mitigate the risks of complications. With local partners, teams provide better access to education for all and job opportunities for youth with disabilities. At the end of 2021, the team started inclusive education activities targeting early childhood education.

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Takoma Park, Maryland — On the second anniversary of the Syrian uprising, Handicap International condemns the inaction of the international community, which has failed in its duty to protect civilians or to give them equal access to humanitarian aid. Handicap International has been aiding victims of the Syrian conflict for ten months. After launching a relief effort for Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon, it extended activities inside Syria, where conditions are extremely harsh.

Two years after the first demonstrators hit the streets of Syria, the country is locked in a bloody civil war that has already claimed the lives of nearly 70,000 people and forced nearly 4 million others to take refuge abroad or inside Syria. This incredibly violent crisis, in which civilians have faced two years of continuous fighting, claims more and more victims. They continue to be killed by bullets or bombs, severely wounded or burned, and traumatized by the hell of their everyday lives.

Handicap International began supplying aid to Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon in May 2012, before extending its operations into Syria. More than 160 Handicap International staff work in these three countries to case-manage victims. By June 2013, almost 37,000 people will have benefited from the charity’s direct assistance, while 9,000 people have learned how to spot and avoid weapons and explosive remnants of war.

Few organizations operate in the north of Syria. Handicap International is the only one providing post-surgery emergency rehabilitation care to victims, many of whom are children. It is common for our teams to provide rehabilitation care and orthopedic devices to people who have lost both legs, or an arm and a leg.

Given the extreme suffering of the Syrian people, Handicap International has already admonished representatives of the international community for their failure to apply principles of civilian protection and for their lack of action.

“It is clear that diplomatic pressure on all parties to this conflict has failed to prevent civilians from being deliberately targeted, in total disregard for international humanitarian law, and sometimes with indescribable cruelty,” says Jean-Baptiste Richardier, executive director of Handicap International.

Despite advances in obtaining authorization from the Syrian authorities to access government-controlled areas, the north of Syria remains appallingly isolated. The significance and preservation of international humanitarian law are at stake as well as the capacity of the international community to combat its own despondency.

“This conflict has unfolded behind closed doors,” Richardier adds. “Humanitarian organizations, which are ready and willing to intervene, are not being given adequate resources to supply the humanitarian assistance required to meet the immense needs of the people. As a result of this wait-and-see policy, a growing number of Syrians have had to flee their country, with one million refugees already registered in neighboring countries. There will also be dramatic and long-term consequences for everyone left without adequate care, some of whom will develop disabilities as a result. Statements on the accessibility of northern Syria for aid passing through government-controlled areas should not, however, minimize the serious deficiency of emergency relief getting through to this region. Any other conclusion would be a lie, and the international community should not be satisfied with the little progress made so far.”

Elizabeth MacNairn, executive director of Handicap International’s US office, adds that "the victims of this bloody conflict will bear the physical and psychological scars for years to come. The international community must not only respond immediately with lifesaving assistance, but also in the medium- and long-term to help the Syrian people rebuild and reclaim their lives.”

About Handicap International
Co-winner of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, Handicap International is an independent international aid organization. It has been working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster for 30 years. Working alongside persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, our actions and testimony focus on responding to their essential needs, improving their living conditions, and promoting respect for their dignity and basic rights. Since 1982, Handicap International has set up development programs in more than 60 countries and intervenes in numerous emergency situations. The network of eight national associations (Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States) works constantly to mobilize resources, jointly manage projects and to increase the impact of the organization's principles and actions. Handicap International is one of six founding organizations of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, and winner of the 2011 Hilton Humanitarian Prize. Handicap International takes action and campaigns in places where “standing tall” is no easy task.

Contacts
Mica Bevington, Director of Communications and Marketing
Handicap International US
+1 (240) 450-3531
[email protected]

Molly Feltner, Communications and Marketing Officer
Handicap International US
+1 (240) 450-3528
[email protected]