HEADLINE SUBHEADLINE

THE SYRIA CRISIS

5years stories countries

An update for private supporters

Acknowledgements

This report has been prepared by UNHCR’s Private Sector Fundraising Communication team to update donors and supporters on their support to help Syrian refugees.

Design: Tom Fincham Words: Kirsty McFadden Cover image: © UNHCR/Achilleas Zavallis

Published: 7 March 2016

UNHCR & the Syria crisis

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, leads the international action to protect some 55 million people who have been forced to flee their homes, including the millions of Syrian families displaced by conflict.

During the five years of conflict, we have been on the frontlines, both inside Syria and in surrounding host countries, delivering life-saving assistance, safeguarding fundamental human rights, and developing solutions to help Syrians find a better future.

Today, the Syria crisis shows no concrete signs of ending. With tens of thousands of Syrians landing on the shores of Greece over the past year, the crisis has now reached the doorstep of Europe. Your support today is as crucial and as vital as ever.

Contents Five years Timeline to a crisis 4

Five stories Families and staff touched by Syria’s conflict 8

Five countries UNHCR response in five key countries in 2015 14

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UNHCR staff work inside Syria, delivering vital humanitarian assistance and support.

Five yearsTimeline to a crisisWhen the Syrian conflict started five years ago, no one could have predicted that this emergency would become the defining refugee crisis of our time with far-reaching consequences for the Middle East, Europe and refugees searching for safety across the world.

As we head into a sixth year of conflict, UNHCR reflects on the grim milestones we have surpassed and continues to call on all parties to the conflict to find a permanent peaceful resolution and a tangible solution for all of the Syrian’s who have been forced from their homes.

2011MarchThe Syria crisis begins when peaceful protests spread nationwide.

MayAs the protests grow, a number of Syrian's begin to flee their homes and the first camps for refugees open in Turkey.

2012JulyUNHCR and Jordanian authorities open Za’atari Refugee Camp. One year later, it will be home to some 120,000 refugees.

DecemberNeighbouring countries now host half a million refugees and people continue to arrive in search of safety and protection from UNHCR.

2013MarchThe number of Syrian refugees registered with UNHCR reaches 1 million.

AprilUN High Commissioner for Refugees warns of the far-reaching consequences of the conflict and the increased need for funds to support the Syrians who have found safety in host countries like Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.

AugustThe number of Syrian refugee children reaches 1 million and the following month, the total number of Syrian refugees passes 2 million.

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“Helping Syria's neighbours deal with the human fallout of this terrible conflict is crucial for preserving the stability of the entire region. This is not just another refugee crisis – what happens in Syria and in the neighbouring countries potentially has much wider, even global, implications,"

Antonio Guterres, former UN High

Commissioner for Refugees

2014MarchUNHCR has registered over 2.5 million Syrians in neighbouring countries, and estimates some 6.5 million people are displaced within Syria and in need of help. By mid-2014, nearly half of Syria's 22 million population are estimated to be affected by the conflict and in need of humanitarian assistance.

OctoberUNHCR reports an alarming increase in the number of Syrians risking deadly sea journeys across the Mediterranean and by the end of October, 31% of all people arriving by sea are Syrian refugees.

2015JulyThe total number of Syrian refugees exceeds 4 million.

AugustThe UN announces that the crisis in Syria has claimed an estimated 250,000 lives, and displaced 12 million people.

SeptemberPhotos of drowned 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi appear in global media outlets and shock the world.

UNHCR deploys staff to Greece and other European transit countries including Hungary, Serbia, and Croatia to offer protection and support to the tens of thousands of people arriving in Europe in search of safety.

2016JanuaryUNHCR takes part in an aid convoy to deliver life-saving food aid and blankets to the starving civilians trapped in Madaya and three other besieged towns inside Syria. More convoys follow, delivering UNHCR winter clothes, jerry cans, household items and diapers.

FebruaryOver 4.6 million people have fled Syria since the conflict started.

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“All the countries that have an influence in this complicated peace process, none of them should be looking at those pictures of starving children without realizing that unless peace comes we will see more of those pictures."

Filippo Grandi, UN High commissioner for Refugees ©

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Over 4.6 million Syrian men, women and children are now registered with UNHCR as refugees. Despite the hardships of five years of conflict and flight, behind the staggering statistics are stories of resilient families and dedicated UNHCR frontline staff, all finding strength in adversity to carry on through the most difficult days.

Five StoriesFamilies and staff touched by conflict

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Malik: Cancer care in a campWhen little Malik’s stomach became bloated and sore, his mother Khulud suspected the worse; “When the chemical attacks happened, we were living in the basement of a neighbours house after ours was destroyed.”

“When Malik became unwell, I took him to a hospital in Damascus. I knew something was wrong. He was diagnosed with cancer.”

Fearing Malik would not receive the life-saving treatment he needed in Syria, Khulud, four-year-old Malik and his three-year-old sister Malak fled to Jordan.

In Za’atari refugee camp Malik was immediately referred to Jordan University Hospital for chemotherapy: “When we arrived here, Malik started receiving treatment immediately thanks to UNHCR. I am so grateful for the support; I don't know what would have happened if he didn't get this help.”

“I've started to notice improvements - his energy is coming back, he's interested in food again and I hope he’ll be the little boy he used to be.”

In the UNHCR managed Za’atari refugee camp, all refugees receive expert medical care at the on-site UNHCR directed and funded medical clinic. With special cases like Malik’s, UNHCR also covers the full cost of cancer treatment, follow-up and care in expert hospitals throughout Jordan.

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Tamara Bakez, UNHCR Senior Field Assistant, is battling a cold. “I am fortunate. I have a warm home to return to tonight. The Syrians here are not so lucky; most live in terrible housing, housing they can’t even afford.”

With some 85% of refugees across Jordan living outside of camps in rented accommodation in cities and towns, Tamara and her colleagues have conducted tens of thousands of home visits to find the most vulnerable families and get them the help they so desperately need.

“Most Syrians in Jordan don’t need a UNHCR blanket; what they desperately need is money to help pay the rent, cover the cost of medicines or buy school books and uniforms. Refugees can’t work here and after many years from home, savings are mostly gone.”

“Working for UNHCR isn’t always easy because there is never enough money to cover everything. But

this job is about making a difference. I can’t stop war but I can help those affected by it.”

UNHCR’s Lifeline programme is making a vital difference to more than 108,000 people in Jordan by delivering targeted, monthly cash assistance to the most vulnerable Syrian families living in urban areas of the country.

Tamara: A lifeline in the suburbs

Ahlam: New life in europeHeavily pregnant and with her six-year-old daughter Samer in hand, Ahlam clambered from the fragile dinghy that had carried her to the shores of Europe.

“She looked totally calm and cool, but I noticed that she looked very pregnant, in her last trimester,” says on duty, UNHCR Protection Officer Shirleen Afshar.

But Ahlam’s calm demeanour belied a major problem. Her baby was upside down and she urgently needed a caesarean section.

UNHCR fast-tracked Ahlam’s registration with authorities and quickly transferred her to hospital, where she gave birth to a baby girl at 15:00 the same day.

Cradling swaddled baby Samar, Ahlam recounted her journey: “We thought we would drown, all the time. We didn’t think we would make it. In Syria it would have been very difficult for my new baby to grow up. There would be no hope for her. Life begins here.”

UNHCR offers direct support and protection to the most vulnerable refugees like Ahlam and her daughters. We are also calling on Europe to provide safe and legal pathways to safety so that families do not have to rely on unscrupulous people smugglers and the dangerous sea journey.

Hannouf feeds her children a hot lunch as they gather as close as safely possible to the small wood stove used for heating and cooking; "The situation is not good at all. We spent all last night shovelling snow from the roof of the tents, but still 2 tents in this camp collapsed,"

After years of living in her family tent, in an informal settlement on the edge of a town in Lebanon, this is not the first storm Hannouf, her children and the refugee settlement have weathered. It will not be their last.

"During the first winter here we said hopefully we will go back home before the next winter,

but with each year the situation is going from bad to worse.”

“UNHCR gave us blankets and food coupons which help a lot, but we have no money for wood for the stove….”

Every year, within Syria and in the neighbouring host countries like Jordan and Lebanon, UNHCR prepares emergency aid stocks as part of its winter programme. Before the snowstorms descend, UNHCR frontline teams distribute ‘winterization kits’ including fuel vouchers, blankets, stoves and food parcels to help the most vulnerable people and families survive the harsh winter.

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Hannouf: Surviving a winter storm

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“I’ve been there,” says UNHCR’s Hana Zabalawi. “I know how they feel – the uncertainty and the fear.”

Back in the first Gulf war, Hana, a Syrian-Palestinian was living in Kuwait and fled after the Iraqi tanks rolled in. It was Syria that gave her a home, and an education.

Today, clad in a blue UNHCR vest, Hana is on emergency deployment, working minimum eight-hour shifts as a Protection Officer, offering hope to a people deeply unsure about the future ahead.

“I’ve been working with UNHCR for 20 years now, and it’s the first time I met so many

refugees telling us how important we are to them, who say: ‘I am so happy to see you’.”

“It’s not just water, or biscuits. By seeing us they feel secure. They feel protected, because this is the unknown… They say don’t leave us; you received us in Greece, you saw us at the borders, and you were there all along the way.”

In 2015, UNHCR deployed 192 full-time staff to support refugees arriving in Europe. Protection Officers like Hana play a vital role monitoring the borders, identifying and referring those most in need, and distributing aid and advice.

Hana: Frontline protection

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UNHCR works both within Syria and in the surrounding host countries in the Middle East and Europe to support families who have fled and offer them the protection and help they need. The country updates below provide a brief introduction to the complex and multi-faceted work of UNHCR protection and response teams on the ground. With the support of private donors like you, UNHCR develops and runs programmes that not only provide life-saving essentials such as shelter and healthcare, but also support Syrian families to find a permanent, safe home.

Five CountriesUNHCR response in 2015

LEBANON

With the second largest population of Syrian refugees, UNHCR Lebanon is developing robust solutions that target and protect the most vulnerable. UNHCR key achievements include:

• Providing targeted financial assistance to 141,000 families over winter to help them survive. In addition, helping over 8,000 families living in Arsal with winter fuel cards to cover heating costs.

• Funding 182,000 primary health-care interventions and 60,222 hospital admissions for life saving interventions and obstetric care.

• In the final quarter of 2015, delivering safer water, sanitation and health (WASH) programmes to more than 80,000 refugees and improving water quality for over 55,600 people.

• Registering 13,000 Syrians for resettlement to safe countries and referring 5,000 to Canada under their leading Humanitarian Transfer programme.

SYRIA

UNHCR estimates that 13.5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance inside Syria, with 6.5 million people displaced from their homes and around 2.4 million living without adequate shelter. In 2015, UNHCR supported millions of people. Key achievements include:

• Delivering over 9 million core relief items, such as sleeping mats, kitchen sets, plastic sheeting, thermal blankets, and jerry cans, to more than 3.2 million vulnerable people. UNHCR supported missions to 33 hard to reach areas to deliver this vital aid.

• Reaching 865,654 vulnerable people in Syria with UNHCR protection services and providing more than 797,000 people with access to critical health care services.

• In winter of 2015-16, assisting some 452,000 people with targeted winter interventions and issuing 130,000 winter kits to those most at risk.

• Sheltering some 61,000 vulnerable people with solutions that improved living conditions in hard-hit areas.

TURKEY

Turkey is now the largest refugee hosting country in the world, sheltering some 2.6 million Syrians. Turkish authorities lead the refugee response in the country with the support of partners including UNHCR. In 2015, UNHCR achievements include:

• With authorities, completing the biometric registration of 2.6 million people to allow for delivery of more targeted support

• Providing livelihoods training for some 9,000 refugees and vulnerable people in the host community to help strengthen income opportunities and reduce burden on Turkish communities dealing with the influx of people.

• Registering 8,099 Syrian individuals for resettlement to safe countries.

• Training 4,200 people from local authorities

and partner organisation’s in protection.

GREECE

In 2015, Greece became the main entry country for desperate Syrian’s trying to reach safety in Europe. UNHCR achievements include:

• Establishing eight UNHCR field offices, 21 vital reception centres, transit sites, and assembly points through the islands and on the mainland to provide protection and support.

• Delivering and installing 314 refugee housing units, 101 family tents and nine prefabricated halls to provide short-term but safe accommodation for arriving people and families.

• Between September and December, distributing 139,318 food and non-food items (NFIs) including thermal blankets and sleeping mats throughout Greece.

• Providing 1,000 safe, accommodation places in Athens and the islands to refugees seeking formal relocation within the European Union.

JORDAN

UNHCR Jordan has developed a suite of programmes to deliver help to Syrian families both inside and out of camps. UNHCR achievements include:

• Delivering monthly cash assistance to some 108,000 people through UNHCR’s Lifeline programme to cover basic survival essentials including rent, healthcare and education.

• Protecting, assisting and delivering essential services to the 79,000 refugees who live in

the UNHCR managed Za’atari refugee camp. In winter, keeping children warm and dry with clothes grants for every child in the camp and improving shelter maintenance with one-off shelter cash assistance to every family.

• Delivering a comprehensive energy plan for Azraq refugee camp that will provide enough, low-cost electricity for 28,000 families to operate lights, a refrigerator, television, fan and charge phones in each family shelter.

unhcr.org

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