There's a mother from Syria who becomes physically
ill every time she receives a text message from the U.N. World Food
Programme. She says each message prompts renewed dread that her family's
rations will be cut – again. Like many of her fellow refugees in the
Zaatari refugee camp, this woman relies on humanitarian assistance to
get by. But it's barely enough.
Throughout our trip to Lebanon and Jordan last week,
we encountered similar tales of despair. After more than five years of
living in camps, makeshift settlements, dilapidated apartments, rundown
shacks, abandoned factories and vacant schools across the region, many
Syrian refugees are losing hope. These families might not be dying, but
they are barely living.
Over the last week, we've seen the human face of war:
The innocent who have suffered because they're caught in the crossfire,
their homes destroyed. We heard stories of loved ones who are dead,
missing or injured, we spoke to parents whose eyes teared up when asked
about their futures, whose children do not attend school because there
is no room or they need to work.
These families
now pass their days haunted by their thoughts with very little to do,
sitting in bare rooms in Amman or refugee camps or settlements. They've
lost hope. Their lives are shattered.
Unable to work legally, they spend
their days waiting, repairing holes in the roof of their shelter,
fathers ashamed because they're unable to provide for their families,
covering their faces to hide their tears. We were also reminded during
our trip that children make up the majority of these refugee
communities.
When we asked a Syrian refugee and father of four
what he did for a living, the man broke down crying. A former mechanic,
he cannot legally work so he depends on emergency food assistance to
feed his family, for now at least. Last year, the World Food Programme
was twice forced to cut its rations to refugees living in Lebanon and
Jordan, where more than 1.6 million Syrian refugees now live. In fact,
Syrians now make up nearly one-fifth of Lebanon's population. These
countries are struggling to cope with a massive influx of refugees while
bearing an enormous burden for rest of the world.
But these ration cuts are not for a lack of capacity
or expertise. Humanitarian agencies already have the systems in place to
carry out one of the largest emergency relief operations in history.
These humanitarian agencies simply lack the money to fully fund the
operation.
In the weeks ahead, world leaders must address
critical issues: Improving access to education so all children can
attend school; encouraging private-sector investment in host nations
like Lebanon and Jordan to create jobs for Syrian refugees as well as
the local population; providing adequate housing and healthcare;
securing access to besieged areas within Syria; among other major
challenges. Failure to resolve the bigger conflict means the refugee
situation could become permanent and ignite further instability across
the region and worldwide.
But there is something we can do right
now – today – to offer hope to Syrian families: Feed the hungry. Many of
the challenges facing Syrian refugees won't be solved overnight. But we
can address today's food needs and prevent hunger now.
Providing emergency food assistance to Syrian
refugees doesn't just benefit the refugees themselves. It also bolsters
local economies in host nations that desperately need our support. World
Food Programme's electronic voucher program enables refugees to shop
for locally produced food, thus helping local businesses while saving
time and money on shipping and storage costs. Yet today, due to funding
shortfalls, e-voucher amounts in Lebanon and Jordan are only 75 percent
of what is needed to meet the minimal nutritional requirements, putting
vulnerable children at risk of malnutrition. As a result, Syrian mothers
like 52-year-old Fatmeh in Lebanon are forced to wrap their children's
bellies with scarves to help them cope with hunger pangs
.
U.S. officials are attending a conference in
London today cohosted by the United Nations, the United Kingdom, Germany,
Kuwait and Norway to examine the refugee crisis and raise support for relief.
These talks should not conclude until the entire $1.3 billion needed to feed
Syrian refugees through 2016 has been fully funded.
For
five years, Syrian families have lived their lives in limbo, not
knowing when they can return home or what kind of future awaits their
children. One thing they should not have to worry about is where they
will find their next meal.
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