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53,000 Syrians displaced

A family leaves their home

The current unrest in Syria has so far forced over 53,000 people to abandon their homes and seek safety in the neighbouring countries of Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan.  The past few months have seen an increase in violence which caused more people to flee.  The estimated number of displaced Syrians in Lebanon is 29,150, in Jordan 7,021, in Turkey 18,357 and in Iraq they have reached 792.

The thousands of Syrians, who have poured into north Lebanon since May 2011 using illegal border crossings, fled with no possessions except for the clothing on their backs and sought refuge predominantly with families or friends in neighbouring Lebanon.

The displaced found in Lebanon, except those in the north, are afraid of ‘public registering’ since they want to keep their identities disclosed.  It is estimated also that more than 2,000 unregistered displaced are unwilling to register fearing of reprisals from Syrian forces and intelligence officers, both within Syria as well as Lebanon.

Some Syrians who came to Lebanon last spring returned to Syria to check their possessions’ status.  Since then, cross border movements have become more difficult due to a tightening of security on the Syrian side especially after the spread of mines across border and presence of snipers since the 3rd of April 2012.

In Ersal and Wadi Khaled villages, most of the displaced community is hosted by Lebanese families. In Bekaa Casa, 233 families are paying rents that range from $100-250. Their situation is unbearable where a unit consisted of 2 rooms hosts 18 people in some cases.

According to UNHCR latest update, 72 Wounded Cases were recorded in March 2012, and a total of 407 cases since September 2011.

Islamic Relief will continue to support Syrian refugees. Valerie Amos, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, recently thanked Dr Ashmawey  for Islamic Relief’s efforts in a letter. She said “I appreciate Islamic Relief’s efforts to support civilians during the crisis”.  She furthermore thanked Islamic Relief for participating in the Syrian Humanitarian Forum. She said she looked forward to continuing engagement with Dr Ashmawey in follow-up meetings.