[Joint House and Senate Hearing, 113 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
FLEEING TO LIVE: SYRIAN REFUGEES IN THE OSCE REGION
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND
COOPERATION IN EUROPE
ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
JUNE 13, 2013
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COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS
SENATE
HOUSE
BENJAMIN CARDIN, Maryland, CHRISTOPHER SMITH, New Jersey,
Chairman Co-Chairman
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island JOSEPH PITTS, Pennsylvania
TOM UDALL, New Mexico ROBERT ADERHOLT, Alabama
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire PHIL GINGREY, Georgia
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut MICHAEL BURGESS, Texas
ROGER WICKER, Mississippi ALCEE HASTINGS, Florida
SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER,
JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas New York
MIKE McINTYRE, North Carolina
STEVE COHEN, Tennessee
FLEEING TO LIVE: SYRIAN REFUGEES IN THE OSCE REGION
JUNE 13, 2013
COMMISSIONERS
Page
Hon. Benjamin Cardin, Chairman, Commission on Security and
Cooperation in Europe.......................................... 1
Hon. Sheldon Whitehouse, Commissioner, Commission on Security and
Cooperation in Europe.......................................... 3
Hon. Michael Burgess, Commissioner, Commission on Security and
Cooperation in Europe.......................................... 10
Hon. Alcee Hastings, Commissioner, Commission on Security and
Cooperation in Europe.......................................... 13
WITNESSES
Anne C. Richard, Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees and
Migration, U.S. Department of State............................ 3
Michel Gabaudan, President, Refugees International............... 18
Jana Mason, Senior Adviser for Government Relations, UNHCR
Washington Regional Office..................................... 21
Yassar Bittar, Government Relations and Advocacy Associate,
Coalition for a Democratic Syria............................... 25
APPENDICES
Prepared Statement of Hon. Michael Burgess....................... 40
Prepared Statement of Anne C. Richard............................ 41
Prepared Statement of Michel Gabaudan............................ 49
Prepared Statement of Jana Mason................................. 55
Prepared Statement of Yassar Bittar.............................. 61
FLEEING TO LIVE: SYRIAN REFUGEES IN THE OSCE REGION
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JUNE 13, 2013
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe,
Washington, DC.
The hearing was held from 2:07 p.m. To 4:15 p.m. in 562
Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., Senator
Benjamin Cardin, Chairman of the Commission on Security and
Cooperation in Europe, presiding.
Commissioners present: Hon. Benjamin Cardin, Chairman,
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; Hon. Sheldon
Whitehouse, Commissioner, Commission on Security and
Cooperation in Europe; Hon. Michael Burgess, Commissioner,
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; and Hon.
Alcee Hastings, Commissioner, Commission on Security and
Cooperation in Europe.
Witnesses present: Anne C. Richard, Assistant Secretary for
Population, Refugees and Migration, U.S. Department of State;
Michel Gabaudan, President, Refugees International; Jana Mason,
Senior Adviser for Government Relations, UNHCR Washington
Regional Office; and Yassar Bittar, Government Relations and
Advocacy Associate, Coalition for a Democratic Syria.
HON. BENJAMIN CARDIN, CHAIRMAN, COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND
COOPERATION IN EUROPE
Mr. Cardin. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the
Helsinki Commission hearing we're holding today on Syrian
refugees in the OSCE region, ``Fleeing to Live.'' As chairman
of the Helsinki Commission, I want to welcome everyone to
today's hearing and thank them for their interest in our work.
This hearing is convened as we prepare to commemorate World
Refugee Day on June 20th. It is fitting, therefore, that we
examine what is quickly becoming a great humanitarian disaster,
and determine what more we here in the United States and,
indeed, in the entire world community can do to alleviate the
suffering of the Syrian people and assist those countries that
have opened their borders to the refugees.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees, there are now more than 1.6 million Syrian refugees
in neighboring countries, and more than 5.1 million displaced
within Syria. An average of 8,000 Syrians are crossing into
Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt every day. The majority
are women and children. The refugees have increased the
population of Lebanon by 11 percent, and Jordan by 8 percent.
To put the enormity of this crisis in perspective, that would
be equivalent in the United States of receiving 25 (million) to
30 million refuges during the past two years. The host
countries are under intense political, social and economic
pressure. I commend them for keeping their borders open to
those fleeing the ongoing violence in Syria.
In February of this year, I led a commission delegation to
the Middle East. While in Turkey, we visited Kilis, the refugee
camp which shelters more than 13,000 Syrian refugees on the
Turkey-Syrian border. It is one of 17 camps that have been
established by the Turkish government. Just prior to our visit,
the camp residents held an election: selected leaders for their
temporary community. It was the first free election that they
had ever participated in. They were excited about that.
Our delegation met with those elected officials who shared
stories of their triumph in leading their families to safety in
Turkey. Their frustration with the lack of support from the
international community was clear. These leaders repeatedly
expressed their expectation that the United States would take
more decisive action. Our conversations reinforced concerns
that destabilizing elements may take advantage of the void of
cohesive leadership in the opposition as time drags on.
In December 2012, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees
appealed for 1.5 billion (dollars) in contributions from the
international community to meet the needs--then expected to be
one million--to have fled across Syrians' border by mid-2013.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has already
registered more than 1.6 million refugees in the region;
however, the December appeal has not yet been fully met.
Last week, The United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees issued its updated Regional Response Plan for Syrian
Refugees and appealed for 2.9 billion (dollars) in humanitarian
assistance, almost double its December 2012 request. They now
estimate that by the end of the year, half of the population of
Syria will be in need of aid. This includes an anticipated 3.45
million Syrian refugees and 6.8 million Syrians inside the
country. The governments of Lebanon and Jordan are also
appealing for funds, and the humanitarian appeal for inside
Syria is $1.4 billion. According to the United Nations, the
total appeal for assistance for displaced Syrians in 2013 is $5
billion. This is the largest humanitarian appeal in history.
The United States is doing its best to provide aid to the
Syrian people. Since the crisis began, we have contributed $514
million in humanitarian assistance and remain the single-
largest donor of aid to the United Nations, U.N. agencies and
the host countries themselves. Clearly, the unprecedented scale
of this crisis requires the United States and the entire
international community to do more.
After more than two years, the violence in Syria continues
and the humanitarian crisis it has spawned continues to spiral
out of control with no end in sight. Sadly, and most
disturbingly, not only does the violence in Syria continue but,
according to the most recent report by the U.N.'s Independent
International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab
republic, it ``has reached new levels of brutality.'' The
Commission states that the report, ``documents for the first
time the systematic imposition of sieges, the use of chemical
agents and forcible displacement. War crimes, crimes against
humanity and gross human rights violations continue apace.
Referral to justice remains paramount.'' That was what the
report said.
We must, and we can, do more to help the Syrian people. I
look forward to hearing the views of our distinguished
witnesses that we have before us today so we can plan an
effective strategy to help accomplish that goal of protecting
the Syrian people.
Let me acknowledge my colleague, Senator Whitehouse, and
recognize him for any opening statement that you might want to
make.
HON. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, COMMISSIONER, COMMISSION ON SECURITY
AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE
Mr. Whitehouse. Only very briefly. I want to let folks know
that I recently went on a bipartisan CODEL that was led by
Senator McCain. I've since been back to the region. We met with
the Syrian Opposition Council. We went to one of the refugee
camps and there was, I believe, unanimous bipartisan sentiment
on the part of all of the travelers on that CODEL that we
needed to improve and increase the United States' effort in
Syria and improve and increase the United States' effort in
Turkey and in Lebanon, where the refugee problem is the most
acute. We have allies who are facing very considerable cost
and, indeed, even political risk in those two places because of
the inadequacy of the American and international response. We
communicated those views to the administration, and I hope this
helps communicate them further.
Mr. Cardin. Well, Senator Whitehouse, let me thank you for
taking the time to visit. I know that--how much they appreciate
when we all--personally take the time to visit and see
firsthand the circumstances on the ground and are able to talk
to the people who are directly impacted by this crisis.
Our first panel today we will receive testimony from the
Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and
Migration, Ann Richard. Prior to her appointment as Assistant
Secretary, Ms. Richard was Vice President of Government
Relations and Advocacy for the International Rescue Committee.
She also served as the Director of the Secretary of State's
Office of Resources, Plans and Policy, and was Deputy Chief
Financial Officer of the Peace Corps. We thank you for your
service and we look forward to your testimony.
ANNE C. RICHARD, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR POPULATION, REFUGEES
AND MIGRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Ms. Richard. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Senator
Whitehouse. And I really want to thank the entire committee for
pulling together this hearing today on this important subject,
and I want to thank you both for traveling to the region and
for meeting directly with Syrians who are in need of our help,
and leaving this town and going out there and talking directly
to the people affected. Thank you so much.
The crisis in Syria has caused the world's largest refugee
emergency in decades. I'm grateful for this opportunity to
update you on the impact this crisis is having on countries in
the region and steps our government and the international
community are taking to help governments in the region address
this massive challenge.
My written testimony offers detailed information about the
extremely dangerous situation inside Syria, as well as the
effects of refugee influxes on the neighboring countries of
Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt. This afternoon, I
would like to focus on just a few key points and then I'll be
glad to answer your questions.
This is the largest and most complex humanitarian crisis in
the world today as you said, Mr. Chairman. Some 5.8 million
Syrians have fled for their lives. Of this, an estimated 4.2
million Syrians are displaced inside their own country and 1.6
million Syrian refugees are in neighboring countries. More than
500,000 Syrians have fled to Lebanon. Jordan and Turkey each
are rapidly approaching that number as well. More than 150,000
have sought refuge in Iraq and nearly 80,000 have made their
way all the way to Egypt.
With disturbing frequency, Syrian families are fleeing not
only because they fear an imminent threat of conflict or
atrocities in their communities, but also because they are
desperate to reach the essentials that are no longer reliably
available in their communities, such as clean water, medical
care and basic shelter. U.N. humanitarian officials project
that the number of Syrian refugees could climb to 3.5 million
by the end of this year, more than double the current number.
The number of refugees could surge to far more than that if,
for example, violence in Damascus itself were to intensify.
Last week, the United Nations called for $4.4 billion to
address emergency needs inside Syria and in neighboring
countries that are struggling to accommodate huge refugee
populations. It was the largest humanitarian appeal in U.N.
history.
The U.S. is providing nearly $515 million to support
emergency humanitarian assistance programs for Syrians,
including nearly 260 million (dollars) to protect and assist
Syrian refugees. We are looking closely at providing additional
financial support in coming weeks as the emergency continues to
grow.
The governments of Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt
have worked hard and at great expense to accommodate the flood
of refugees that are inundating their local communities. One of
our most important priorities is to encourage countries in the
region to keep their borders open so that Syrians desperate to
reach safety can do so. We continue to urge neighboring
governments to offer asylum to all Syrians who cross the
border. We recognize the tremendous burden that hosting
refugees is placing on neighboring countries. Our government's
strong financial support for refugee relief operations helps
alleviate this burden, and we are committed to doing more to
support Syria's neighbors.
Seventy five percent of Syrian refugees are women and
children. They typically are the most vulnerable to sexual
violence and exploitation, domestic violence, poor health care,
forced early marriage, survival sex and long-term trauma caused
by the dangers and atrocities they experienced or witnessed in
Syria. I have traveled to the region four times in my tenure as
assistant secretary, and each time I have met with Syrian women
and children to hear their stories.
One of our ongoing priorities is to provide the safe
shelter, education and therapeutic activities that refugee
women and children desperately need. Most Syrian refugees do
not live in refugee camps. They instead have taken shelter in
villages and cities where local residents have generously
shared what they can. During the second half of 2013, we will
place a priority on giving more help to these local communities
that are struggling to accommodate the large Syrian refugee
population.
The presence of so many refugees has inflamed local
tensions in some areas and has aggravated local pressures. If
these communities are to continue hosting Syrian refugees, they
will need help. We must strengthen bilateral economic and
development aid to help maintain and expand public services for
refugees and the local residents alike.
Another priority as we move forward, Mr. Chairman, will be
robust contingency planning. The current humanitarian
challenges are great, but these challenges will only grow
larger. Regrettably, we must plan ahead for even more
scenarios. We will continue to engage in frank discussions with
U.N. humanitarian agencies and refugee-hosting governments
about the possibility of massive new refugee surges and other
contingencies. It is critical that we prepare now for what
might come in the future.
Mr. Chairman, I hope to depart later this month on my fifth
trip to the region. Deputy Assistant Secretary Kelly Clements
is traveling in the region this week. Our bureau bases refugee
coordinators in the region, deploys humanitarian advisers to
identify humanitarian needs, analyzes and reports on challenges
and monitors programs. We work very closely with all the U.S.
embassies in the region, and we have very good working
relationships with them. And they are working night and day.
This is a regional crisis, and it has our full attention.
We deeply appreciate the strong congressional support that has
made our efforts possible. We are always ready to brief you and
your colleagues about what we are seeing and the actions we are
taking. So in closing, let me thank you again for holding this
hearing, and I welcome any questions you might have.
Mr. Cardin. Well, your entire statement, as will all the
witnesses', will be made part of the record. So just want all
of you to be aware of that. And thank you for what you're doing
and thank you for returning to the region.
We need a dual strategy here. We've got to deal with Syria
and the crisis in Syria so that it is safe for people to live
in Syria, that will allow a certain number of the refugees to
be able to return to their homes in safety. That clearly has to
be a priority. And the message we heard very clearly from the
people who have been victimized and the opposition leaders said
they need more decisive international action and more
predictable action. And I'm going to talk about that in a
moment.
The second area of priority is to protect the people who
are now vulnerable, whether they're living in refugee camps,
whether they're living in communities outside of Syria or
whether they're displaced within Syria. And you point out,
particularly with those who have left, the large majority are
women and children. You also point out that there are
widespread abuses: forced marriage, prostitution, et cetera.
What are we doing to protect the women and children?
Ms. Richard. Thank you for asking that question. It's very
much on my mind on a daily basis. As you know, there have been
reports of gender-based violence, including sexual violence.
We're working closely with our humanitarian aid agency partners
to beef up protection for vulnerable refugees. We are concerned
about the allegations of exploitation of Syrian refugee women
and girls through early marriage, in addition to the violence.
And protection of these populations is a core part of what
our partners do. If you--if you read their documents, they
don't just aid people. They try to protect and aid them. But in
some of the largest--in on the largest camps, in Zaatari camp,
in Jordan, this has proven very, very difficult. Right now, we
are working with the government of Jordan, with our embassy in
Jordan and other bureaus of the State Department to enhance the
security of that camp overall. And we're trying to look at ways
the U.S. can help the Jordanians, who have the responsibility
for the camp's protection, to beef that up and also potentially
to help people inside the camp, some of the Syrians who live
there, to mount their own neighborhood watch so that they're
protecting themselves, each other.
That camp grew so quickly over such a short time period,
with so many people coming in, I think that is one of the
reasons that it has problems today. So in the camp, we are
increasing the number and reach of gender-based violence
awareness sessions. There is a women's clinic. I was up in New
York yesterday talking to the head of U.N. Population Fund, Dr.
Babatunde Osotimehin, about that clinic, where it is, making
sure that it has services. There's also a clinic run by IMC and
others. We want women to have counseling services if they have
been victimized.
One of the things I just learned about was we're using
children who go to the child-friendly spaces to get word to
their mothers, if they need help where they can go and get it,
which in that culture makes a lot of sense. I've met with the
head of the Jordan Health Aid Society, JHAS, and talked to him
a lot about this, because they have mobile clinics that go to
neighborhoods then to reach people who are not in the camps. We
also fund just generic health programs for urban refugees.
Some of our nongovernmental organization partners are
providing training to ministries of health to be sensitive to
the situations and sensitive to these needs. You know, our
funding that goes to the U.N. High Commission on Refugees,
UNICEF, U.N. Population Fund and these international
nongovernmental organizations are in part to coordinate
protection and services to aid and protect women and girls in
the region. So we're doing a lot. I think we need to do even
more. And I'm afraid that's going to be a theme of several of
the issues we may be talking about today.
But in this particular area, the good news, I guess, is
that we're well aware of the need, and so we are focused on
these programs. And this is where the U.S. is seen as in the
forefront of putting pressure on these partners to do that.
Mr. Cardin. Well, as I said in my opening comments, I'm for
us doing more. So I agree with that. But I am for
accountability. And U.S. participation must come with strict
accountability to make sure that families are protected.
You point out that a large number--I believe it's about 75
or 76 percent of the refugees outside of Syria--don't live in
camps. In camps we have a chance to see firsthand the resources
that are available to protect families.
Ms. Richard. Yeah.
Mr. Cardin. But with three-quarters living outside of
camps, we don't have that same opportunity. What do we do about
the vast majority that is not living in an organized camp?
Ms. Richard. Well, in some ways people living outside camps
live a more normal life in that if they can get their kids
enrolled in schools, if they can get some work, they can live
among----
Mr. Cardin. But let me say, do we have information that
would let us know whether the abuses that are taking place
against women and children are more prevalent in the camps or
outside the camps, more prevalent in one country versus
another? Do we have that type of information?
Ms. Richard. I don't have the answers on that. My suspicion
is that the camp--the Zaatari camp, not the camps in Turkey,
but the Zaatari camp is a more dangerous place right now than
living outside the camp because people are completely dependent
on aid to survive and they don't have their own resources. And
there is a sort of thriving underground economy that's
partially run by criminals that has got to be stamped out. And
so that's where people, I think, are vulnerable to
exploitation.
Outside the camps--this is why we're big supporters of
refugees being registered by the U.N. High Commissioner for
Refugees because then they--who they are, where they've come
from, what their needs are, what their special needs are if
there's someone disabled or elderly, that gives a profile of
what the needs are, and that way they can get the help that
they need. We can provide it through our NGO partners.
Mr. Cardin. I understand the registration; it's so that
they can get services. Are they getting the services? They
getting the help?
Ms. Richard. If they're registered, then they're on the map
and they're getting help they need, definitely, yes. Is it
enough to survive? I think it's a very challenging existence,
as it is for refugees everywhere. I mean, it's not a
comfortable existence.
Mr. Cardin. Well, I would appreciate more information being
made available to us by camps and countries and regions. I
believe Senator Whitehouse went to the same camp I did--was it
Kilis that you went to? And that's really an incredible
investment by Turkey to have the camp and the schools there.
Mr. Whitehouse. Lebanon.
Mr. Cardin. You were at a different one? But I was very
impressed by what I saw, but I also--believe that's not
typical.
Ms. Richard. That is not the typical camp, yeah.
Mr. Cardin. Right, circumstance. So, I don't want to be----
Ms. Richard. In Turkey, the standards not only meet but
they exceed international standards for refugees. And it's
tremendously generous.
Mr. Cardin. So, let me ask one last question. How do we
make sure the resources get to where they need to be? If we're
going to put more money up, how do we make sure that we get
that to the most vulnerable to protect them?
Ms. Richard. My strong belief is that the most important
thing we could do is get other countries to contribute and
donate because I think that the nongovernmental organizations
and international organization partners we're working with know
what to do. And I think the U.S. is out in front in
contributing, but we know that there aren't enough resources
coming to respond. And so I think the most important thing for
us to do as diplomats and the State Department is to get other
countries, convince them to join us and to take this as
seriously as you all are taking it and as my boss, Secretary
Kerry, is taking it.
Mr. Cardin. Senator Whitehouse.
Mr. Whitehouse. Thank you, Chairman. I have to go down to
the classified briefing that we're having, but I wanted to
thank you for the attention that you're bringing to this issue.
And I just wanted to propose to the assistant secretary that I
recognize that America has spent a lot of money and put a lot
of effort into supporting the opposition and into supporting
the refugee population coming out of Syria, but it's possible
to spend a lot of money and spend a lot of effort and still be
behind the curve, still be that day late and that dollar short.
And I worry from what we're seeing--from what I've seen in
the press, from what I've seen in my visits to that area, that
we've been just behind the curve on supporting the opposition,
and the momentum as a result has shifted to the point where at
one point the administration was saying that, you know, Assad's
days are numbered, and now people are saying, well, looks like
he's winning.
And in terms of support for the refugees, it seems that
we're always just behind the curve so that the burden on the--
on our local allies is always so great that it's potentially
destabilizing. And we have few better friends than the Turkish
government and then King Abdullah in that area, so I would just
urge you that it's not so much how much we're spending; it's
whether we're on the right side of the curve and whether we're
on the right side of the momentum. And it looks to me that
despite our efforts, we remain both a day late and a dollar
short in both these things.
And the incremental marginal difference not to be a day
late and a dollar short against what we're spending may not be
a very big difference, but strategically I think it's all the
difference. So, I, for one, would urge you to take the message
back to the administration that there's considerable support
for trying to make sure you're actually at that point where the
momentum is with you and you're ahead of the curve.
Mr. Cardin. Thank you.
Mr. Whitehouse. Thank you.
Mr. Cardin. You mentioned that we want to get more
contributions from the international community to the United
Nations. What can the United States do to encourage U.N.
contributions from other countries to be made?
Ms. Richard. I think that in all of our meetings with other
countries on a whole variety of issues, we need to add this to
the talking points and we need to encourage them to give and
encourage them to do what you did, which was to travel to the
area.
You know, the economic downturn a few years ago has meant
that traditional donors like the Europeans are not expanding
their giving. And everyone has put the hopes on emerging
donors--so-called emerging donors. These are countries in the
Gulf area but also the BRICS--Brazil, Russia, India, China,
South Africa. And so we have seen generosity from some of these
countries in the past but not necessarily through international
organizations. Sometimes, some of these countries prefer giving
bilaterally or giving things instead of contributing cash. Cash
is always more helpful, especially when it goes to
professionals who know what they're doing. So, my sense is that
we have to look for every opportunity to have these
conversations, invite these officials to come travel with us,
encourage them to attend international conferences we have. Our
diplomats are out traveling.
I think another piece of this is--which I'm doing with
colleagues--is speaking through the media to raise the profile,
to point out the shortages in the funding. I know the Helsinki
Commission has relationships overseas, and so I know you all
are well-placed to have those kinds of international
conversations about these very, very serious issues.
Mr. Cardin. That's a very good point. Whenever I travel to
an area that's affected by refugees, I try to visit refugees.
So, when I was in Syria two years ago, two and a half years
ago, I visited the Iraqi refugees. Are the Iraqi refugees
heading back to Iraq? Where are they?
Ms. Richard. Many of them have headed back to Iraq. And I,
like yourself, I visited Iraqi refugees in Syria a few years
ago. And at the time, I thanked all the Syrians I met for
hosting them, so it is a sad and cruel turn of events that
Syrians are now fleeing their own country.
Many of the Iraqis have gone back to Iraq. Others are
moving on for a second time. We have been working very hard to
help Iraqis get out of Syria. It's very tricky because we can't
do interviews of refugees in the country, so we're working with
other countries to help get Iraqis out if they were in line to
come to the U.S.
Mr. Cardin. How do you assess the risk factor that borders
may not be as open as they are today? We have been very
fortunate and we have complimented the governments from Turkey
to Jordan to Lebanon, where there have been borders that have
been available for people fleeing persecution and danger. The
numbers are extreme in these countries and there's at least
conversations that that policy--that these policies could
change. How great of a risk is it that borders could be less
than freely opened?
Ms. Richard. I think it's a real and live concern, and this
is why in all our conversations with the neighbors, we thank
them. We are usually trying to provide additional help so that
they understand that we understand their tensions, their
domestic tensions in trying to help their own citizens and then
shoulder the burden--the additional burden of taking in
refugees. And then we've been very vigilant in talking to these
countries when there are difficulties at the borders about, you
know, really pushing them to keep them open. It's a very
serious issue.
You know, I think of Jordan where they have Palestinian
refugees who've been there for decades. And then they took in
Iraqi refugees, so this is actually the third population of
refugees coming to a very small country. So the one thing that
gives me hope there is that the king has been very forward-
leaning in saying that they must allow people to cross, out of
humanitarian motives. But it's clear that inside the country
this creates some domestic tensions, and so that's where our
help to not just the refugees but to the local communities,
especially impoverished communities so they don't feel that
things that they deserve are going to these visitors and that
they are somehow disadvantaged by this. Aid to local
communities is very important.
Mr. Cardin. King Abdullah was here not too long ago, and he
was pretty firm about his commitment to keep borders open. But
when you start looking at the numbers, you know that it's a
challenge. I think he has some domestic concerns. I mean, I
think there is a real serious question being raised on these
issues.
Dr. Burgess, good to have you here.
HON. MICHAEL BURGESS, COMMISSIONER, COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND
COOPERATION IN EUROPE
Mr. Burgess. Thank you, Senator.
Mr. Cardin. We're about completed with this panel. Would
you like to ask a question--sort of give you a chance to jump
in here.
Mr. Burgess. Thanks, Chairman, I would. And, Secretary,
once again, thank you for speaking with me earlier this week to
give me some background.
Ms. Richard. Thank you so much for your interest in this
issue.
Mr. Burgess. Well, I got to tell you I'm very concerned.
And, I mean, you raised some serious problems that are being
faced by the three countries that are bordering Syria. And
shortly after our discussion, I had an opportunity to read an
article in the L.A. Times about perhaps resettlement plans to
the United States for Syrian refugees. And I got to tell you
that got my attention; that certainly aroused a significant
amount of concern.
I think we are--several of us are wondering what the
position is of the administration going forward. I recently
took a trip to Kabul and on the way there stopped in the United
Arab Emirates, and the emir of that country voiced some concern
as to what seemed to be an inconsistent policy toward Syria.
And I know they're working with their other partner-countries
to try to have a unified response, but I'll just tell you the--
I don't want to say lack of direction because that's really not
quite fair, but the fact that there is a confused analysis or
what appears at least in the press to be a confused analysis--
hundreds of thousands of people pouring over the border to
neighboring countries, and now you have people talking in our
press about resettlement of refugees in this country, all of
that on top of the possibility that the United States should
take some additional action in Syria. But I've got to tell you
that concerns me, and it concerns the people that I represent
back home.
So, what can you say to mollify me today to assuage those
concerns, to reassure me that there is a consistent policy
coming out of the--out of the department and the White House,
that there is a road ahead, there's a trajectory that--a
strategy that's been defined and a trajectory that's being
followed?
Ms. Richard. Well, you'll understand I'm authorized to talk
about the humanitarian piece of this, and we have been
consistent on this as we have been in other crises, where we're
the world's leader in contributing to the response--to the
international response.
You know, many of us hoped that this would be a short-term
crisis and that the people who I've met in the Middle East
living in camps and living in villages would have been able to
go home by now. And the longer this has gone on, it has meant
that not only that more people are coming across but that the
road back home will also be more challenging because so much of
Syria has been bombed and is ruined, and so many horrible
things have happened that there are children who really have
been traumatized and so getting over that will be very, very
hard.
In terms of resettling refugees in the United States, you
may know that each year the U.S. leads the world in accepting
thousands of refugees to come and restart their lives in the
U.S. We tend to take the most vulnerable people, for whom there
is no going home. Sometimes it's ethnic minorities, sometimes
it's female-headed households with lots of children who, you
know, have no way of making it on their own overseas but can
get a fresh start in the U.S.
We're hoping to bring 70,000 refugees to the U.S. this
year. That's just a drop in the bucket compared to the 42
million, 45 million displaced people in the world or the 1.6
million Syrian refugees in the region. And these 70,000 come
from all over the world. The top countries are Iraq, Burma and
Bhutan right now.
So, when I've been asked if we would be open to resettling
Syrian refugees, I've said yes. But we're going to follow the
recommendations of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. We
don't bring people quickly. We generally have refugees go
through a process where we check their stories and we work very
closely with partners--organizations but also the Department of
Homeland Security, who gets to determine who is a bona fide
refugee by U.S. standards; not just international standards but
by U.S. standards.
So, I could foresee a time when some refugees will come
here from Syria, particularly if they have some situation where
they really feel they can't go home again. We have brought only
a handful so far, and I don't think it's going to happen
quickly and I don't think it's going to happen in very large
numbers. One reason to do it, in addition to help those
refugees themselves, is it will demonstrate to these countries
in the region that they're not the only ones hosting refugees.
Germany, for example, has done that. They have offered to take
5,000. When Germany offers that, they mean temporarily. When
the U.S. offers refugees a fresh start in the U.S., we
generally mean permanently. If they're happy here--and most
refugees are very successful here--then they often become U.S.
citizens over time and stay.
Mr. Burgess. Well, actually, let me ask you this. Because
the area that I represent back in Texas--part of Tarrant County
and a good chunk of Denton County--we actually have two groups
of refugees that have been settled by the State Department in
the 10 years that I've been in Congress. I will say that I was
surprised when I found that they had been resettled in the
area. And I would have thought--I was a relatively new member
at that point, and I would have thought there would have been
some conversation with the representative from that area,
recognizing that there was this enormous responsibility that
was coming to the neighborhood and where the congressional
office could be helpful with the municipality, with the county
government, with local aid agencies. I thought there could have
been a better coordination of that activity. But that's just
been my own experience in the brief time that I've been in
Congress.
I'll just say again I've remained very concerned about what
I'm seeing and what I'm hearing. I don't see a good answer to
this, but I do want to convey the message that there needs to
be a strategy developed. There needs to be--of course,
obviously, the administration does need to work with the House
and the Senate about whatever type of military activity might
be contemplated. And we all need to think through the timeline.
If the--you know, I came here after the authorization for
(acting ?) in Afghanistan had already occurred, but if there's
one thing that's become painfully apparent over the last 10
years it's the lack of the definition of a timeline, the lack
of adherence to a timeline that has caused a great deal of the
difficulty. It even leads to some of the ambiguity that we see
today in--as far as our relationship with those two countries.
But, I thank you for your time being here. Thank you for
the effort to educate me about this earlier in the week. And,
Mr. Chairman, I'll yield back.
Ms. Richard. Thank you. Can I just mention one thing? You
know, I agree 100 percent with you on the need to make sure
that local elected officials know about the refugees coming to
the areas that they represent. And not only do I agree with
that but the Government Accountability Office also came out
with a report saying we have to do even more of it than we have
been in the past. So, this is one of my priorities in the
admissions program, is to make sure we're talking to the mayor,
the head of the school board who's going to be seeing the--you
know, the teachers are going to be seeing these kids come in;
to make sure that people in the neighborhoods understand who
their new neighbors are and why they're coming. Why this is an
American tradition and why it has been successful, and really
to allay people's fears and make sure we're very careful in
where we bring people.
Mr. Burgess. OK, thank you.
Mr. Cardin. And I will point out that there are some
efforts being made in the immigration reform bill to give a
little better direction on these programs and numbers, we have
our differences with how the law has been implemented, but we'd
like you to move faster, in some cases, than you've been able
to move. We understand homeland security, we understand the
procedures, but these people are extremely vulnerable so I
think definitive action is important and we need to have the
resources in place to be able to deliver on what we claim to be
our international responsibility to accept refugees.
We're joined by the long-time leader of the Helsinki
Commission, who has been going through a change in his body as
far as getting new parts, so we welcome him back from his
surgery. He still has that smile. Congressman Hastings.
HON. ALCEE HASTINGS, COMMISSIONER, COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND
COOPERATION IN EUROPE
Mr. Hastings. Thank you very much, Senator, and thank you
so very much for holding this hearing.--I don't know how Dr.
Burgess got over here faster than I did from our vote on the
House, but I apologize for being delayed and I apologize to the
secretary and other witnesses and all that are assembled.
Senator, this is an extremely important hearing, and I know
that Secretary Richard's portfolio contemplates many of the
things--in light of the fact that I am late, I really will ask
first that the statement that I would have made at the opening
be put in the record by unanimous consent.
Mr. Cardin. Without objection, it will be included.
Mr. Hastings. Thank you so very much.
Mr. Cardin. Dr. Burgess's statement will also be put in the
record.
Mr. Hastings. All right, I deeply appreciate that. Senator,
you and I in January were in Kilis. Secretary Richard, we saw
the extraordinary work that the government of Turkey is doing
with reference to our refugees. They are building two camps
now. And in the midst of all of that, new matters have arisen
regarding the Turkish government with reference to their own
internal politics.
The stress that the Syrian people are experiencing, with
1.6 million refugees--at least 1.3 million of them registered--
and being scattered to the wind, for lack of a better
expression, I'd like for you to give me your overview with
reference to your opinion and the administration's opinion,
with reference to the effects of this refugee crisis on the
governments of Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. And what, if
anything, aside from the fact that the United States government
should be proud of the fact that they are the largest of the
contributors, but my understanding--and we will hear later, I
believe, from UNHCR that they're requesting $5 billion, and so
the amount that we have contributed thus far for humanitarian
aid is just not sufficient.
Let me put my bona fides on the table. The senator
mentioned that I had been involved in the Helsinki Commission
for a long time. We have some extraordinary people up here that
work with us and have worked with us for a long period of time.
We've been in and out of that region frequently, and I don't
recall that anybody on your staff--and I'm not resentful at
all--have ever asked me a single question about anything, and I
believe I know more about the Middle East than most of your
staff, at least, if not you. And the reason being for no other
reason than I've been there, and I've been there often. And I'm
not bragging; I'm just telling you what is a fact. When I speak
about the king of Jordan, I'm speaking about a friend. I
served, just for your information, eight years on the
intelligence committee. Need I say more regarding how important
Jordan is and the implications for all of this?
I'd like for you to tell me what's happening with Iraqi
refugees that went to Syria. Where are they? I'd like for you
to tell me what's happening with refugees as it pertains to
Russia and what's happening to refugees as it pertains to Iran.
And then I'd like very much at some point for you and I to have
a conversation so I can edify you regarding some things we
missed. When I met with Assad in 2010, I knew that he was not
going to accept any terms at all, and I know that now. And I
don't know what the plan is. I join Dr. Burgess in saying that
I'm not certain as to what we are going to do. But I know what
we should have done; that we didn't do. And somebody needs to
speak up around here when these matters are ongoing.
You were not in the Department of State when Rwanda was
going on. My good friend, and the senator's good friend, and
Dr. Burgess didn't get to know him as well--Donald Payne and I
begged the State Department to call that genocide. And it
wasn't until many years later that it was put on the bubble and
called for what it was worth. Now, I said I wasn't going to say
very much, but I am--I'm beside myself when I see children and
women and--different from Dr. Burgess, I attended a function in
Broward County, Florida, in December, and there I was stunned
that there were 1,700 Syrians that--Syrian nationals that were
at that function. They live in the congressional district that
I represent, so you don't have to tell me very much when
they're coming there. They tell me.
The point that I'm making to you is I've seen the slowdown
on Iraq with refugees. We have people that helped us, who
helped American soldiers; interpreters that helped them, people
that saved American lives, and they were left by the wayside.
And it wasn't until a substantial amount of time before we
began to accept people. We need to have a process in place with
reference to the Syrians that allows that we can expedite--I
wanted to ask you, and perhaps I'll wait until we meet
personally--to ask you if you say 70,000 are coming, I'll make
you a bet before the end of the year we won't have 2,000 or
3,000. And if not, then correct me and tell me the `when' of
it, and why there will be an accelerated pace for the
acceptance.
I hope you don't take my attitude about this to mean that
it's directed towards you or the secretary of state. But
something is drastically wrong with our lack of communication
when I can cite to you right here four people that have been on
the ground, that are sitting behind me, that have been on the
ground in this issue, and that I have dealt with it from the
Maghreb all the way back across the board for the greater
portion of the last 16 years. And I rarely, if ever, unless I
force the issue, hear from anybody from the State Department.
That doesn't make sense to me. That's just--not because I'm
important or you're important, but that we as a government are
and that we're doing things and there's no communication.
There was no brief-out after the senator and I and the
delegation that we were with went to Kilis. Nobody asked us
about who we met with in Turkey or what we did while we were
there. Nobody asked us about the fact that we were going there
from Israel and the implications for all of this as it pertains
to Israel. In there somewhere is the question.
Thank you very much.
Ms. Richard. Congressman, I want to assure you that I'm
quite certain you know more than I do about the Middle East
because that is not my area of expertise, and many of the
refugee crises that I have worked on in the past were Burmese
and Thailand and also throughout Africa. And like Senator
Cardin, the first time I went to the Middle East it was for
meeting with Iraqi refugees. And this is why I rely so much on
the experts in the Near East and Asia Bureau of the State
Department because I know that without that historical context,
without understanding the unique situation of each of these
countries, you can't really understand what's happening with
the--with these governments, the precarious situation they're
in, and, you know, all the many rocks upon which this
humanitarian enterprise could founder.
Taking these countries, then, that you've mentioned, I'll
start with Turkey since both you and Chairman Cardin have been
there. As we said, their response is far and away the best
response to refugees there has ever been on Earth, probably.
They have been tremendously generous. Part of the dilemma they
have is that they started this when there were fewer refugees
coming across, and now it is becoming a very expensive
enterprise for them to support that many refugees in the way
they would like to, where they not only meet international
standards; they exceed them. And so I've been there a couple
times to two different camps.
And I have thanked the Turks with whom I met for their
generosity. And we have looked for ways that we could provide
support. They--once the numbers really started to grow, they
asked us to provide funding directly to them, and we explained
that our humanitarian assistance appropriated by Congress is
used not to pay governments directly but to go through these
trusted international organizations and nongovernmental
organizations. So, we have looked for ways to offset some of
their costs by, for example, the World Food Program, which--to
which the U.S. is a top funder. Not my bureau; USAID does that.
But to fund a card that the Turkish Red Crescent gives to
refugees so that they can go shopping on a local market. And
it's much better for the mental outlook of the refugees. It's
better for the locals because they have customers coming and
shopping and buying their products, and it's--all in all, it's
been a beneficial thing, then, offsetting costs that the
government and the people of Turkey would have to fund.
So, it hasn't been completely problem-free, but I think--
Turkey has really moved quickly to host large numbers, build
lots of camps, 17, and more under construction, and to provide
a really outstanding level of support to refugees.
In Jordan, we have close ties but Jordan is not as
economically advantaged as Turkey is, so we have a bilateral
relationship that has--not run by my office but to provide
assistance--economic assistance to the government to help with
their own needs of their own people, especially impoverished
people who live in Jordan. And then also we are working very
closely with U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees to provide
help to refugees in Jordan. Some are in camp; some are living
in the villages in the communities. And we're trying to get aid
to both groups and it requires different approaches for each
group. We meet often with the Jordanians. We visit often. I
talk every week to the U.S. ambassador to Jordan. He is
intensely interested in what's going on and, you know, really
has his finger on the pulse of what's happening. He talks to
everybody; from refugees who he meets with when he visits the
camps, to the king.
In Lebanon, because of the way they are governed, it is
harder for us to have that close a relationship in terms of
bilateral aid, and so we really rely more on the international
organizations. I have, however, met with the prime minister of
Lebanon, I've met with the president of Lebanon; I have assured
them I care what happens there. We want to make sure that they
are not forgotten in this situation. They are used to tensions
in their own country and--but, you know, Beirut is very, very
close to Damascus. It's driving distance. It's just a couple
hours away. And you really feel that when you're there.
So, one of the things we've done lately is really try to
bring more attention to Lebanon, and I've talked especially to
the European--my counterparts in Europe about this because they
may be able to do more in Lebanon whereas we could do more in
Jordan, and trying to make sure both countries get the help
they need. There are no camps in Lebanon to this date. The
Lebanese took people in but they're also living in clinics, in
schools, in partially completed buildings. You know, anything
that has a structure turns into a shelter for refugees, so it's
a very, very sobering situation.
The numbers of refugees going to Iraq are fewer. My
colleague, the deputy assistant secretary, Kelly Clements, was
in Iraq. The last couple days, we sent her up to Erbil and then
to Baghdad to investigate the situation for refugees there. As
we were talking about a moment ago, not only are Syrians going
to Iraq; Iraqis who'd fled Iraq are going back to Iraq. And so
this is really heartbreaking. I mean, these poor people have
been displaced twice.
I'll have to get back to you on Russia and Iran. Iran, you
know we have a program to help people flee Iran, so I don't
know about Syrians going to Iran. Iran already hosts 1.7
million Afghans, so, you know, this is a place where we are
constantly working on the edges of in terms of refugee
situations.
I was on the State Department payroll when Rwanda happened.
I was a civil servant. I had taken a leave to go help start the
International Crisis Group. And as we went around and talked
about the need for an organization like that, the Rwandan
genocide was unfolding. And your former colleague, Steve
Solarz, had left Congress at that point. I accompanied him to
some of the meetings in where Rwanda became the case of what we
had to not have happen ever again.
And I can't hear Donald Payne's name without thinking of
all that he did. You know, he was ``the'' expert on Africa. So,
you don't have to convince me that sometimes members of
Congress know more than State Department people because if you
just mention Donald Payne, you rest your case.
Let's see, in terms of bringing Syrians to the U.S. The
70,000 refugees we intend to bring this year would come from
countries in the rest of the world. The top three places we're
bringing refugees right now are Iraq, Burma and Bhutan. Only a
handful of Syrians were really anticipated when we put that
number together. And the president, you know, proposed that all
to you. So, by the end of the year, there may be very few
Syrians who have come in. That is true. We will probably get
all 70,000 refugees but they won't be Syrians. I appreciate
what Senator Cardin said about trying to find mechanisms to
bring in refugees who need to be brought to safety quickly; out
of these situations quicker.
You know, this has been a conversation we've had ever since
we, the U.S. government, had to get some of these translators
and drivers and those who'd helped--Iraqis who'd helped
American troops out. And then, our procedures are deliberately
designed to be super careful so that we don't let terrorists
in.
One thing that the State Department has set up, before my
time, was to fund UNACR to have three places around the world:
ETCs, where refugees can go if they have to get out of wherever
they are, the place for them if the new country that they're
headed to is not ready to take them yet. So, there's one in
Romania. Somebody back here knows the other two.
Mr. Cardin. Well, thank you for that comprehensive answer
to Congressman Hastings. I'm just going to make an observation.
You are correct, there is a reason for time to pass before we
can resettle refugees, but the resources have not been made
available in the right locations, so it could have been done a
lot quicker. And there have been a lot of letters from Congress
to the administration on this issue. Many of us have observed
this first-hand and have tried to get the system working more
efficiently, and we'll be glad to follow up with you on this
issue, but I think you're going to see some additional
congressional direction in order to expedite those that are at
risk.
Ms. Richard. We welcome that.
Mr. Cardin. Thank you. Thank you very much for your
testimony, appreciate it.
Ms. Richard. Thank you all very much for your interest and
for your travels, too. I appreciate that.
Mr. Cardin. Thank you. We'll now turn to our second panel
that consists of three experts on Syrian refugees and
internally displaced persons. We have Dr. Michel Gabaudan, who
is President of the Refugees International. He testified before
the commission in 2008 regarding the plight of Iraqi refugees
when he served as the United Nations High Commissioner for
RefugeesRegional Representative for the United States in the
Caribbean. Trained as a medical doctor in addition to holding a
master's degree in tropical public health, Dr. Gabaudan's
career at UNHCR has spanned more than 25 years.
We also have Ms. Jana Mason, who is Senior Adviser for
Government Relations and External Affairs at the Washington,
D.C. office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Prior
to joining the High Commissioner's office, Ms. Mason was
Director of Government Relations and Advocacy at the
International Rescue Committee and also worked for 11 years
with the U.S. Committee for Refugees.
And then we have Ms. Yassar Bittar, who is Government
Relations and Advocacy Associate for the Syrian-American
Council in Washington, D.C. She is responsible for briefing
congressional offices and the Department of State on the Syrian
crisis and for grassroots mobilization with the Syrian-American
community.
We will start with Dr. Gabaudan.
MICHEL GABAUDAN, PRESIDENT, REFUGEES INTERNATIONAL
Mr. Gabaudan. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And
Chairman Cardin, Congressmen Hastings and Burgess, thank you
very much for inviting me to testify to this very important
hearing, which timing, of course, is fantastic, between the
largest appeal of the U.N. and World Refugee Day.
We have at Refugees International undertaken four missions
to the region to the four countries hosting refugees and to the
northern part of Syria in the past year and a half. And I will
share with you my key impressions from these trips as we are
preparing for our next one very soon.
I think the Syrian crisis, the way it affects people, we
have to look at under three different dimensions. First, there
is the strict level of human suffering and humanitarian needs
and how best to respond to these. I was certainly dramatically
impressed a year ago when we met the children of the first
families who had managed to escape Hama and Homs and who
arrived in Jordan. And in 30 years of refugee work, I've never
seen such a blank stare in small children, who should never
have seen things that we regret to imagine.
On the question of gender abuse, I was also quite stricken
to the fact that the extent of violence against women inside
Syria has led to families leaving in order to avoid being
subjected to this sort of violence. I had never heard that in
my life before. So there is a level of brutality to the
conflict that is reaching almost unheard-of heights.
The second dimension, of course, is the impact this refugee
outflow is having on neighboring countries. We were absolutely
pleased to be the tremendous welcome that Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon
and Turkey have given to refugees with very open borders, with
rather easy access to services and in general--and it's
evolving--a pretty open attitude toward the international
community in its ability to come and help.
But this open-arms policy is slowing--is showing some
strains right now. First, they are at risk of importation of
the increasing sectarian nature of the conflict in Syria into
neighboring countries, Lebanon in particular. And I think we
should all be very happy to see that Lebanon hasn't done worse
than it has done to date with this strict--this close
relationship it has with Syria.
But there is the impact in the local population. When we
were in Jordan last year, the health and education ministries
have seen their budgets cut by 25 percent, because of the
economic situation of Jordan, at a time when they're offering
access to schools and to the facilities to the very large
number of Syrians they have. Now, that of course is something
that a local population is going to tolerate for just a small
amount of time. And at one point, they will say, what about--
what about us?
So in general, what we're seeing right now, I think, is
what we would call a reduction of the protection space in this
country, which is certainly of great concern and needs to be
addressed, not through the humanitarian means and response that
we had, but perhaps, more to development aid, to the
multilateral banks, et cetera.
And finally, there is the situation inside Syria, where we
see an increasing atomization of the power structures in
different areas. And it has a series of impacts. The first one
is that, as Assistant Secretary Richard mentioned, is that we
are seeing now refugees who get out of Syria because of the
breakdown in services, because of the very high price of
commodities, not only because of the brutality of the conflict,
because--but just because the living conditions are becoming
unbearable.
And that exit, if left to fester and to continue, of
course, will make returns impossible. And the longer the
refugees stay in neighboring countries, of course, the more the
reactions of these neighboring countries are going to stiffen
and to make protection difficult. So we are caught in a vicious
circle. And in my view, we have to address the response to the
Syrian crisis by looking at support for neighboring countries
and what we can do inside Syria, in addition to the traditional
means of delivering humanitarian aid to the refugees and to
those Syrians we can access inside Syria.
For the sake of time, I don't want to go over issues that
you have covered in your statement, Mr. Chairman, and that Ms.
Richard has also addressed. I would like, perhaps, to mention
just two issues that we were quite stricken with. The situation
in Lebanon and Jordan, for good reasons, because they have the
highest number of refugees, have been largely covered and
benefit from the large impact of the humanitarian community.
Though things could be improved, they are on the radar screen.
Iraq is much less, and the Kurdish Regional Government has
responded almost singlehandedly to the refugee crisis. The
appeals for Iraq have not been met at the same level as the
others. But it's further complicated that the relationship
between Baghdad and the Kurdish government make international
aid much more difficult to get there. And I think this is
something we have to try to see how we can break.
The second issue is regarding Turkey. As was mentioned,
their response was outstanding in the way they run camps. We've
been to Kilis also--I think we all believe Kilis is perhaps the
showpiece, probably the best of the camps. But even if the
others are not as good, it's certainly well above average. The
Turks have the tradition of responding to earthquakes; people
coming to camps, and after six months, they go out. So they can
afford a pretty high level of standards.
In this case, they have now to maintain standards for a
long time. I understand that the bill for one year is $1
billion; they cannot sustain that. And all the Turkish
officials we've talked to are appealing for international aid,
but not international aid as we do in usual refugee
emergencies; they want bilateral aid, because they have their
own way of responding. And I don't think we should pretend that
we should run the camp in their stead; not at all. But we
should see how we can eventually support them, a difficult
proposition, even though Turkey is a fairly wealthy country, it
doesn't figure on the international aid targets.
But they have shown also more willingness to accommodate
international help in dealing with the growing population of
urban refugees. And I think, as time goes, we will see a higher
proportion of refugees living in cities. And we have to learn
from the experience with Iraqi refugees, when the U.N. had some
fairly creative ways to assist urban populations, ways that
have not yet been into practice for urban refugees in the
region.
The last comment I would like to make, Mr. Chairman, is
that of our assistance to programs inside Syria. Some
international NGOs are having some problems bringing aid inside
Syria, but there are a lot of recently created NGOs or loose
association of Syrians that you find on the border.
They are businessmen from Aleppo, they are former
professionals who took refuge from Damascus because they were
persecuted, they are Syrians working in the--on the diaspora,
some working from--in the Gulf states, other Syrian-Americans
who have left their business in the states, gone back on the
border and tried to do what they can. They are completely out
of the loop of international aid. And they are--these are
people who think as we do about the future of Syria, and they
are highly frustrated and diffident about the West that they
see dumping them completely.
I think it's a tremendous mistake because on the one hand,
they could contribute, if properly assisted and perhaps
trained, you know, coached, in delivering more aid inside
Syria. They will also be essential in the period of recovery
and reconstruction to have as allies. And I think, if we're
missing the boat right now, we're condemning ourselves for the
long run. It's not traditional to help these groups; there are
perhaps some risks involved. But I think we should take these
risks and give all the Syrians a chance to be recognized as
bona fide recipients of the effort we are all making.
In conclusion, Mr. Chair, I would like to say that unless
we start supporting local organization, looking at development
aid to the neighboring countries, we are not going to address
the complexity of the crisis as required.
And the last comment on appropriations, as it will impact
very much where we are in 2014: The administration request on
the migration and refugee account was 2 million (dollars) less
than last year. We hope that the Senate, in its tradition, will
boost this up. I hope more than in the past, because these
funds will be needed next year. We certainly support very much
the administration's request to boost the emergency refugee and
migration account to $250 million; I think this is absolutely
needed. And we certainly welcome the fact that the IDA has been
tremendously increased.
I know your comment, Mr. Chairman, on how to get others--
Europeans have been slow to respond, as usual. They have much
less of an excuse as they try to have, in the case of Iraqis,
where they said this is an American problem; let them fix it.
They don't have that excuse at all in the case of Syrians. I
think it's important that we seek ways to incorporate them. And
perhaps the convenient--convening an international conference
on the Syrian humanitarian crisis, you know, that UNHCR could
do, as it did in the case of Iraq and did create a bit more
visibility for the issue, would be a way forward and should be
encouraged.
Thank you very much for your attention, Mr. Chairman and
congressmen.
Mr. Cardin. Thank you very much for your comments. Ms.
Mason.
JANA MASON, SENIOR ADVISER FOR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, UNHCR
WASHINGTON REGIONAL OFFICE
Ms. Mason. Thank you very much, Chairman Cardin and other
members of the commission. I'd like to express, first of all,
my appreciation for the chance to appear before you today and
offer the perspectives and concerns of the U.N. Refugee Agency,
UNHCR, regarding the humanitarian situation of displaced
Syrians.
Two days ago I returned from a 10-day trip to Jordan and
Lebanon where I traveled throughout both countries and
witnessed the staggering human consequences of the Syrian
conflict. I had the opportunity to interview refugees in both
countries. And I also met with government officials, NGOs,
community members and, of course, my UNHCR colleagues in
various parts of both countries. Two members of our delegation
also traveled to Egypt during that time. I should mention
Turkey was also on the itinerary initially but, due to recent
events, we weren't able to go there.
Very briefly, let me just mention UNHCR currently has three
offices inside Syria and 13 in the five neighboring countries
that now have received the majority of Syrian refugees. As
mentioned, these are Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt and Iraq.
We currently have over 2,000 staff working in the region. UNHCR
leads and coordinates the refugee response--the response in the
host countries. And we work closely with host governments and
with more than 100 U.N. and NGO partners.
Inside Syria, since there was no lead agency for all
internally displaced situations, we're part of a collective
U.N. and NGO response led by the UN Emergency Relief
Coordinator and the OCHA, the Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs. My remarks today are going to focus on
our main observations and main messages regarding the whole
crisis, and particularly on my visit to Jordan and Lebanon.
My written statement includes additional information on all
the countries that we work on, in addition to our operations
inside Syria where we are providing much needed but very
limited humanitarian assistance, understandably because of the
security concerns. But if you're interested more on the inside
situation, I can certainly follow-up with more information on
that.
As others have already noted, and as you noted in your very
comprehensive opening statement, Mr. Chairman, and Mr. Hastings
noted as well, there are at least 1.6 million Syrian refugees
in the region. Of those, one million--I think this should be
noted--one million of 1.6 (million) fled the country in the
last six months alone. So we've seen it's not only the numbers,
but it's the pace of arrivals and the escalation in recent
months.
Civilians have crossed borders in record numbers because of
increased fighting and because of the way the fighting moves
around, as we've seen, cities and towns taking control--or
being controlled by different factions at different times. Many
Syrians cross the borders after having already been internally
displaced. We learned on the trip that in many cases Syrians
are displaced two or three times before crossing a border.
Crossing a border is sometimes the fourth movement.
And this decision to cross a border is often taken in
haste, at the last minute, because they're at imminent risk.
Therefore, they arrive with almost nothing but the clothes on
their back. As a consequence, they have few resources to rely
on and are desperately in need of aid by the international
community. We saw this with the Iraqis, but many of them had a
little bit more time to flee and had resources that dwindled
over time. Many of the Syrians don't come with these resources.
It's also important to know, as has already been mentioned,
that three-quarters of the refugees are women and children. But
of this, three-quarters of the total women and children, but in
most of the countries over half are children alone. In Jordan
alone, 20 percent--or roughly 20 percent are under age five. So
as many of my UNHCR colleagues have mentioned, this is in many
ways a children's crisis.
I've traveled to many refugees camps, as I--as I know many
of you have, you always see a lot of children. But I was just
struck by the number of children in Zaatari refugee camp and
even in the urban areas. In Zaatari camp in Jordan, 60 to 70
children are born each week. And that's one camp in one
country. We saw a lot of--I saw a lot of newborn babies on this
trip, so that's obviously very troubling, raises a host of
protection concerns, as has been mentioned.
One of the main messages I came away with from this trip--
which is not a surprise; it's been echoed by colleagues today--
is that the refugee numbers are putting enormous strain on the
local communities. UNHCR and our partners provide a range of
services, both to the--to the camp refugees and to the non-camp
refugees. We call them urban refugees because they live in
cities and towns. Sometimes urban means a small village;
sometimes it means Amman.
Increasingly, we're also providing assistance to the host
communities as well, to the residents, local populations. The
problem is that these communities have already been hosting the
refugees for two years and they're now reaching the breaking
point. I can't tell you how many times on the trip I heard the
term ``the breaking point.''
The problem is particularly acute in Lebanon where there
are no camps and where refugees are housed in a wide variety of
shelter, ranging from--if you can call it shelter, in some
cases--ranging from rented apartments--which are probably the
best, even though these are often substandard apartments at
inflated rents--to unfinished buildings to what we call
collective centers and maybe an unused school, to, in Lebanon
alone, almost 300, what we call, informal tented settlements,
and tent is an overstatement. It would be nice if they were
tents. They were usually--sometimes they were tearing down
billboards to build some sort of a shack, or they scrounged
around for some materials. These are not run by UNHCR, but as
we access them, one by one, we're trying to provide more
assistance.
Now, the problem is also particularly dangerous in Lebanon
given the country's complex sectarian divisions. As I know the
commission is well aware, the political and security situation
in Lebanon is very precarious. We have reports of more
spillover incidents along the border, with rockets fired from
Syria continuing to strike Bekaa in the north, as well as
prolonged unrest in Tripoli. We were supposed to go into
Tripoli during this delegation, but the security--we had to
drive around the mountain roads and bypass Tripoli and go to
other areas of the north.
We did go to the Bekaa as well. This situation, of course,
is exacerbated by Hezbollah's recent engagement inside Syria
that we're all aware of. During this visit, for example, in
Lebanon, we learned that the funerals of Hezbollah fighters who
have been killed in Lebanon were being used as occasions to
fire shots over the tented settlements where Syrian refugees
were living. Obviously, that's very much of concern.
Now, in Jordan, most media attention has focused on Zaatari
refugee camp in northern Jordan, which currently houses about
120,000. Zaatari is a city actually--I mean, it's a camp. But
as a camp, it constitutes the fifth-largest city in Jordan and
it basically sprung out of the desert in July of last year.
That camp is only 12 kilometers from the border so the refugees
and the workers there routinely hear artillery fire at night.
The location is harsh and some of the conditions are quite
difficult.
Yet, ironically, sometimes even though UNHCR likes to say
that we're moving around from camps--for very good reasons,
because camps aren't good locations to live and for children to
be born and raised. But at least, in this camp and in other
camps, we're able to provide assistance that's at least in
walking distance for the refugees. However, as mentioned,
three-quarters of Syrian refugees live in urban areas, in
cities or villages. And they share many of the concerns with
the urban refugees in Lebanon.
These include high rents, inadequate cash assistance,
problems accessing health care, lack of job opportunities,
problems keeping kids in school and a whole host of protection
issues including gender-based violence. These problems often
force families to turn to what we refer to as negative coping
strategies, which includes such things as child labor, early
marriage, forced marriage and other forms of exploitation.
We're very concerned about trafficking and all sorts of things
in these circumstances.
Now, another key finding from the trip, as you've already
mentioned, is the ongoing need to assure open borders. UNHCR
continues to work with governments in the region to convince
them to keep providing access to territory to all Syrians
fleeing as well as other nationals fleeing the conflict. We're
very grateful for the commitment that they've already offered.
By taking in thousands of new refugees every day, we have to
remember that these countries which are on the front lines of
the crisis are saving lives and supporting the families and
communities.
And very important, they're also helping Syrians prepare
for what we hope will be an eventual return to their homeland.
And at this point at least, every Syrian I met in Lebanon and
Jordan said that they want to--they want to go home. But this
ability to keep borders open and offer services is, of course,
linked to international support to governments and host
communities. If that support isn't available, acceptance
towards the refugees may soon diminish, which would threaten to
further stabilize what's already a fragile region.
I heard about this over and over. I was told the host
communities were initially welcoming to the refugees. Many
landlords, for example, were deferring rent payments, or
reducing rents. Neighbors were providing food. Communities were
chipping in. It's clear, however, that the tide has turned and
that tensions in host communities are growing.
And this is leading to the threat of violence and
instability. One government official I met with said the
refugee crisis is bringing out the worst in society. He said
what people think is morally acceptable behavior is skewed. And
another official said, when you don't have enough yourself,
you're not as willing to share as you used to be. Two very
quick stories about refugees that I met, and then I'll
conclude.
In Amman, I met with an urban refugee family in an
apartment--a very substandard apartment. Husband, wife, six
kids, a daughter-in-law and a newborn grandchild. The son was
still in Syria. They were from Daraa--Daraa region in Syria.
The husband had participated in protests in Daraa and had been
detained twice and tortured. He told us very directly he had a
nervous breakdown because of this. The Syrians are very
forthcoming with mental health issues, which is unlike a number
of refugee populations I've met with before. He said he was
receiving treatment. What forced him to leave was that he was
asked for a third time to come in by military intelligence, and
at this point, he was--he was afraid--he didn't want to go
through the torture again and maybe lose his life, so he fled
to Jordan.
In addition to the concerns over rent and other assistance,
their family is very worried because the newborn grandchild
doesn't have birth registration. They're concerned about his
ability to move as well as to access services like education.
When we were leaving--and this is what struck me--we were
walking down the steps, and the women said to our translator,
boy, they're very lucky--meaning myself and our delegation. I
thought they meant, largely, we're lucky because we're not
coming from a war-torn country or we come from the United
States or what. All they meant, when I asked about it, is that
we were lucky that we were leaving the apartment, because they
never do. They happen to live in a neighborhood that doesn't
have as many Syrians, and they were afraid that they were
becoming--there were increasing hostilities in that
neighborhood to their presence.
The second story, very quickly, is at a tented settlement
in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon. We met a little boy who had
visible scars on his face from when a house explosion--he was
in a house that exploded in Syria, and the burns were quite
difficult to look at. We asked about assistance--the UNHCR
staff with us said they would certainly follow up with them,
but I wondered--you know, we just happened to be there. They
hadn't seen aid workers for a while, because again, they're so
scattered. How long would it be before he would be able to get
some assistance? Next to him was a little girl who we were told
was so emotionally distressed that she couldn't move her
hands--that was just the way her symptoms were manifesting it.
This visit really highlighted the need for adequate shelter
as well as adequate assistance. So in conclusion--and let me
just note that the--as we've discussed here, the conflict in
Syria has put an unbearable strain on the population of Syria
and its neighbors. The host countries have been very generous,
but the overwhelming message that I received is that the
welcome is now being strained as the conflict continues and
refugees keep arriving. If our goal really is, as it is, to
encourage these host countries to keep their borders open and
continue allowing refugees to access basic services, then we
have to do more to assist these governments and their local
populations as well.
Of course, we have to be very smart in how the resources
are used, but the reality is that significant additional
resources will probably be needed this year and beyond. New
donors, including the private sector, have to be tapped, and as
was mentioned earlier, including by Dr. Gabaudan, the
development agencies have to be more engaged as well and work
hand-to-hand with the humanitarian groups. The experiences of
the refugees in neighboring countries may very well determine
what a future Syria looks like, and the welfare of the host
countries will determine the future stability and prosperity of
the entire region. Thank you very much.
Mr. Cardin. Thank you very much. Ms. Bittar.
YASSAR BITTAR, GOVERNMENT RELATIONS AND ADVOCACY ASSOCIATE,
COALITION FOR A DEMOCRATIC SYRIA
Ms. Bittar. Chairman Cardin and members of the commission,
thank you for inviting me to testify on behalf of the Coalition
for a Democratic Syria's work on Syrian refugees and internally
displaced persons. I'd also like to thank you for actually
traveling to the region and meeting with Syrian people on the
ground.
What began in March 2011 as a peaceful revolution in Syria
with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets calling for
freedom and democracy in the face of bullets and tanks has
evolved into what president of Oxfam, American Ray Offenheiser,
describes as a humanitarian catastrophe of ``Darfur-level
insanity if not worse,''.
As mentioned earlier, the U.N. made yet another aid appeal
of $5 billion, its largest ever, maintaining that nearly half
of the country's population will need aid. My comments today
will focus on the coalition's work for the 1.6 million Syrian
refugees and 4.25 million IDPs, many of whom have been
displaced multiple times.
I will then relay my observations from my recent trips into
Syria, during which I took a closer look into the depth and
complexity of the humanitarian crisis on the ground. CDS
represents the Syrian-American community advocacy in support of
the Syrian revolution. Our generous constituency throughout the
country has been the driving force in our work for Syrian
refugees and IDPs.
According to data compiled by the American Relief Coalition
for Syria, the Syrian-American community contributed $45
million in humanitarian aid in 2012; this number is projected
to double in 2013. The networks of these organizations are able
to reach areas under extremely difficult circumstances, at
times when access by the UN is very limited or altogether
lacking.
The international community's efforts in addressing the
humanitarian crisis in Syria have somewhat improved in recent
months, through the introduction of cross-line and cross-
border aid deliveries by international NGOs, albeit on a scale
that does not measure up to the massive needs.
I saw small examples firsthand in the IDP camps inside
Syria. My first trip, I saw very little presence of UN agency
work; rather, the tents were donated by non-profit
organizations willing to cross the border. While on the border,
two tents caught fire as families used candles to keep warm,
killing 7 children; these children survived the landing of a
mortar shell in their kitchen only to be killed by their
supposed source of refuge. During my second trip, two months
later, several UNHCR tents were set up throughout these camps
as the number of IDPs at the border approximately doubled to
reach 60,000 people.
Unfortunately, other needs such as food and sanitation
remain in desperate condition. Refugees are forced to purchase
their own food from local villages as their daily allocation of
one loaf of bread, a tub of butter and jam, and one water
bottle is often not sufficient.
My experience as I traveled further into Syria was even
more heartbreaking. As I traveled two hours into the country, I
saw a physically beautiful Syria as a backdrop to the reality
that the Assad regime has forced upon the people. We drove by
homes that have been brought to the ground, places of worship
that have been destroyed and buildings that had been leveled. I
saw families living in remnants of ancient buildings and
structures that once housed livestocks.
After arriving at the city of Kafrenbal, I made my way to
the statistics bureau of the local civilian council, a body
formed by activists to meet the needs of the population in the
absence of government services. As I was visiting the school
that housed displaced children, an attack helicopter flew over
our heads, and the children reassured me, saying, ``If we are
meant to die, it is God's will. Don't be scared.'' According to
the head of the humanitarian bureau of the local council, the
aid that we delivered into the city had been the first delivery
in at least one month; he delivered food baskets to women who
accepted them with tears streaming down their faces. That
night, we faced six hours of non-stop regime shelling; the
following day, we escaped to Turkey.
On the Turkish side of the border, we stayed in the border
town of Rehanlye, whose population has doubled since the
beginning of the crisis to reach 80,000 people. According to
USAID, Turkey is home to approximately 380,000 registered
Syrian refugees; of them, 100,000 Syrians reside in non-camp
settings. The total amount of aid, as we discussed, spent in
Turkey has reached $1.5 billion with the Turkish government
going above and beyond by providing over $600 million.
Although I was not given access to the Turkish refugee
camps, I visited several Syrian families living amongst the
urban population. I saw very difficult living conditions for
families paying up to 700 Turkish pounds in rent; a family of
six was living in a shed without running water or electricity.
Another family of seven was living on the rooftop of a building
with a makeshift roof for coverage.
The number of refugees and IDPs is at a scale in which,
according to assessments from the ground, there is little room
for error on behalf of the international community. These
numbers will only increase as the situation on is deteriorating
by the day. Just last week, in the city of Qusayr, thousands of
civilians were forced to flee to neighboring villages as Assad
forces, backed by Iranian and Hezbollah militias, placed a
vicious siege on the city of 25,000 people.
Although positive steps in aid delivery have been made, a
disconnect remains in ensuring proper and efficient aid
delivery on behalf of the international community. We believe
it is important to partner with the Assistance Coordination
Unit of the internationally-recognized Syrian Coalition, the
provincial councils in the liberated areas, as well as the
Syrian NGOs that have proven to deliver to disaster stricken
areas. More importantly, the U.S. has to demonstrate strong
resolve and serious commitment to helping solve the crisis in
Syria, the root cause of the humanitarian disaster. Absence of
U.S.-led international action has permitted the crisis to
fester and reach its current tragic proportions, and continued
inaction will only worsen it.
Without addressing the root cause of the problem--the
illegitimate Assad regime--the staggering numbers of IDPs and
relentless exodus of refugees will continue to overwhelm the
humanitarian response and destabilize OSCE member Turkey, OSCE
partner Jordan, and all of Syria's neighbors.
Thank you very much for your time.
Mr. Cardin. Well, we thank all three of you.
I particularly appreciate, Ms. Bittar, your observations of
what's happening inside of Syria. I think that's very important
for us. We know that it depends greatly as to what part of
Syria you're in and who controls the different areas, but one
of our challenges is how do we get aid inside of Syria? We know
there are NGOs working, but to oversight, the route of that aid
is not always certain in that we're not clear whether the
resources are getting to responsible people or not. So we
appreciate your observations and we're going to continue to do
what we can to develop the networks, but it is very, very
challenging.
I have one question and then I'll yield to my colleagues.
What I said originally, we have two priorities: to try to deal
with the people who have been victimized, those that have been
displaced and are refugees, to get them aid. The other is to
bring some semblance of order to Syria. And the strategy is to
try to get change in the regime as quickly as possible, and to
do that in a way that provides for governance in Syria that
respects the rights of all of its citizens so that people can
live in peace.
Now, in order to accomplish that, the opposition people
have been urging for more definitive U.S. assistance and
international assistance. If the amount of international
activity increases inside of Syria, the discussions about
lethal force, what impact could that have on the Syrian
population dealing with the issues that we're currently dealing
with? Do you have a view--or the nation has already been
shocked to such a point that anything more won't make much of a
difference, could there be another round of large increases of
displaced individuals within Syria?
Mr. Gabaudan. Well, reading my cup of tea, Senator, as a
matter of course I would say if you introduce more weapons in
an area which is already in conflict, which may lead to faster
resolution of the conflict, hopefully and perhaps, but during
that time there would be more civilian casualties.
I think the nature of the conflict has already proven that
civilians are bearing an immense cost in the conflict and I
cannot see how adding more weapons to that conflict would make
civilians safer in the short term. In the longer term that
would be more of a military expertise to perhaps address that
because I cannot really vouch on that.
Mr. Cardin. I guess my point about this is--and I'm for
resolving the situation in Syria as promptly as we can and
helping the opposition. My concern is we already--we don't have
the infrastructure in place today to deal with the current
displaced people. Putting additional pressure on it is going to
make at least the short-term circumstances even worse, and
making it even more urgent that we get the resources we need to
try to develop a network to deal with those who are being
displaced.
Ms. Mason. Well, as UNHCR being a humanitarian
organization, I can't directly address the military situation
inside Syria, or what would be or wouldn't be the impact of
different courses of action the U.S. could take. I only wanted
to mention that on the trip everyone we met with--government
officials, U.N., even the refugees themselves--were very tied
in to what's going on back at home, were saying that they still
expect greater displacement regardless of what happens. We kept
hearing it over and over: The worst is yet to come. For
example, the battle for Aleppo hadn't happened yet.
Regardless of what happens with Assad, they were concerned
that there could be future violence that would then--you know,
maybe more sectarian violence that would then lead people to
leave. So just to say that regardless of the course of action
the assumption was more displacement is going to happen.
And that's why as the U.N. we're calling for increased
funding this year and then probably beyond, because as was also
mentioned, regardless of what happens, if Syrians are to return
someday, there's going to have to be great investment in
infrastructure and rebuilding that country, because with
agricultural land destroyed, homes destroyed, entire villages,
there's very little right now for people to go back to.
Mr. Cardin. Let me just--you can answer that--Ms. Bittar, I
just want to ask you, what percentage of Syria today do you
believe we have effective ways of getting help to those who are
in need?
Ms. Bittar. I mean, if we look at the liberated regions, I
believe the number that we have as far as liberated areas in
Syria, I believe the percentage is about 60 percent. But what
we have through the networks on the ground, through these
Syrian NGOs, they're able to reach, like I mentioned, areas
that normally the U.N. agencies can't reach. For example, there
was a neighborhood in the city of Homs called Alwad (ph), which
has been--which was left by the regime until they were
tightening the siege on the city. And there's 600,000 IDPs in
that neighborhood itself.
So they tightened the siege on the city. And in response,
American Relief Coalition for Syria was able to raise about
half a million dollars of aid and find access through their
networks on the ground into these areas that have been under
siege. So if the area isn't liberated, which a lot of Syria is
despite the change on the ground militarily, as we're seeing,
there are the networks on the ground through these Syria NGOs,
as I mentioned earlier.
But then also, in response to your earlier question, in
regards to--the goal of course is to end the conflict in Syria
so that all the Syrians can return back to their country and
those that are internally displaced can return back to their
homes. Arming, in our belief, would help of course bring that
conflict to an end in that as we look at the situation we see
Iran and Hezbollah on the ground in Syria. They're making gains
on the ground.
We have seen them take over, regain the city of Qudsaya,
for example. They are amassed in the suburbs of Aleppo. So
we're seeing these troops and the Assad regime kind of take the
path towards regaining formerly liberated areas. So what
happens in these formally liberated areas is that these
civilians are forced out, leading to the increase of internally
displaced people.
So in order to make sure that this liberated area is not
regained by these Iranian and Hezbollah troops on the ground,
we must equal the playing field on the ground by providing arms
to the Free Syrian Army on the ground, by providing a no-fly
zone so that the Assad regime can land their air force and the
SCUD missiles are not killing innocent civilians on a daily
basis.
So providing arms, although it seems one would predict that
would lead to, like my colleague mentioned, a short-term
displacement, it helps solve the crisis, helps solve the
conflict, which brings people back home and levels the playing
field on the ground, so that we don't lose, so that the Free
Syrian Army does not lose any ground--any of the liberated
regions. So, yes.
Mr. Cardin. Well, thank you for that answer. We are
certainly anxious to get this issue--get Syria resolved. And
the committee I serve on, Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
has taken--is taking action to try to increase U.S. leadership
in that regard.
I would just maybe take issue on one of your statements. In
the liberated areas, it's my understanding they're all not
equal as far as the ability to get aid distributed. We have
more confidence in some areas of the liberated communities than
we do others, that international assistance can get to the
people that really need it. Is that your--I see you're shaking
your head. Isn't there this inconsistency in the liberated
areas?
Ms. Bittar. From what I saw--again, I traveled to Aleppo
and I traveled to Idlib. From what I saw, there was a lack kind
of across the board, but the system is in place. I think the
structure is in place so that we can ensure proper aid delivery
through the Assistance Coordination Unit.
The Assistance Coordination Unit is kind of like a
capacity, a place where all the assessments of the situation on
the ground, all of the networks on the ground kind of come, and
where we can go to the structure and say: We have this aid that
needs to go to a certain location in the liberated areas; can
you help us facilitate it? And they can connect the aid or the
NGOs to the right people on the ground so that the aid goes to,
like, more difficult-to-reach areas. But as far as I saw on the
ground, I wasn't able to see a vast difference between
different cities that I visited.
Mr. Cardin. Right. And the two areas you went to are--I
know the two areas, but we've looked at the map and we've tried
to figure out where we think we have networks that work, and
it's a challenge. It's a challenge. Dr. Burgess.
Mr. Burgess. Thank you, Chairman Cardin.
Ms. Mason, let me ask you a question. And this may seem so
basic as to--be something that's not worth asking at a hearing
like this, but the people in the camps, let's say specifically
in the camps in Jordan, what do they do? What do they do all
day? What's a day in the life like for someone in the camps?
Ms. Mason. Part of their day is getting the services that
they need, lining up for food distribution, lining up for other
distributions. We do have--there are--with partners there are
schools for the children, not sufficient enough for all of them
right now. And some families, for various reasons, are not
sending their kids to the schools, but we do have schools. We
do have what's called ``child-friendly spaces,'' where they can
go even when they're not learning academic subjects to provide
some structure, some normalcy for them.
More and more we're trying, with limited resources, to have
more camp-type meetings, structures where women can gather, men
can gather, make their needs known. But the rest of what they
do all day, as Assistant Secretary Richard mentioned, there is
just all sorts of things going on in the camp--some good, some
bad, some unfortunate. Kids are gathering, throwing stones.
We've seen vandalism. We've seen a lot of manifestations of
just the frustration, the mental illnesses, the lack of any
structure or any hope at this point. So some of the activities
in the camp, we're trying to put an end to some of those and
put more structure in place.
Mr. Burgess. Those who have been displaced, who have left
another home within their home country, how do they keep tabs
on their property or their former homes or possessions?
Ms. Mason. Yeah, that's a very good question. A lot of the
refugees I talked to were still in contact, because many of
them had families back home. A lot of them still had sons or
other male relatives who were in detention, who were in prison,
but others have family members. They mentioned mothers,
sisters. A lot of them had older family members who just
weren't able to make the difficult journey. A lot of them said:
My mother is still in Syria. So they're in communication with
them.
In addition, some of them are returning when possible,
sometimes to check on their land. There are daily buses that go
from Zaatari camp in Jordan, organized by the government. In
some cases families are accompanying individual family members
that want to go back and return. In some cases they're all
going to check on property or to try to bring other family
members back with them. So they do have ways.
Mr. Burgess. So there's an expectation that at some point,
when peace and order is restored, that they would be able to go
to their original place of residence.
Ms. Mason. There's definitely a hope, a very strong hope.
Everyone I talked to said, I want to go home. And of course
that's what refugees say in the early part of a crisis anyway,
but we heard this consistently, that they want to go home.
Whether they'll go--if their home no longer exists they
wouldn't go back to that same residence, but I think most of
them came from communities where they want to go back and
rebuild those communities.
Mr. Burgess. Those that had some means, do they have any
mechanism of a bank to check or a debit card, or any way of
accessing their cash that they may have had?
Ms. Mason. Back in Syria, probably not. But we and our
partners in not all the locations--at many locations--are doing
cash assistance, particularly for the most vulnerable. We're
not able to get cash to everybody but for the most vulnerable
we are providing cash assistance. And we're hoping to increase
it.
And we're moving to a system of debit cards. I mean, it's a
very effective form of giving assistance. There's almost zero
overhead rate when you're giving cash. If you do it right with
debit cards and such, there's very little chance of fraud. So
they do have some access to that. In terms of their own means,
their own cash that they may have brought, I think they're just
using what they have and then it's dwindling.
Mr. Burgess. Tell me this: You mentioned a figure of 60 to
70 deliveries a week. Was that in one specific camp?
Ms. Mason. That was in Zaatari, which is the only real
refugee camp per se in Jordan. There are some very smaller what
we call camps. They were originally built as transit centers
and now they're limited.
Mr. Burgess. So these are Syrian nationals who are housed
in Jordan?
Ms. Mason. In the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, 60 to 70
babies born per week, yes.
Mr. Burgess. And to what country are those children
assigned citizenship?
Ms. Mason. That's a very good question. My organization
also has a mandate for stateless individuals. It's not a well-
known topic, so usually when I talk about statelessness
people's eyes tend to glaze over. But you just put your hand on
what it means.
If they can't register the births in Jordan--and sometimes
they can and sometimes they can't--then at this point they
could be viewed as stateless because they don't have
documentation back in Syria yet. But at least for the ones in
the camps, the birth itself is registered.
We're working with authorities to make sure that when this
child needs documentation, that they'll have it. Then of course
we'll have to see what exists back in Syria to record that
documentation as well. In the Arab world there's something
you're probably familiar with called the family booklet, and
it's just important to make sure that these births are still
registered and that they're listed on the family booklet.
Mr. Burgess. Doctor, let me just ask you this: What about
the medical care in these camps? Who is providing that? Would
this be the host country of these doctors who have been
displaced who are in the camps? How does this work?
Mr. Gabaudan. In the camps--sorry, Congressman. In the
camps mostly international nongovernmental organizations, but
most of the refugees are not in camps. So in the--sorry, in
Turkey it's the Turkish Red Crescent which is completely in
charge of the camps. In Jordan you have an international
organization. So is the case in Iraq. For all the refugees who
are in urban centers----
Mr. Burgess. In Iraq?
Mr. Gabaudan. In Northern Iraq, yes, you have about 150,000
refugees in the Kurdish regional government.
Mr. Burgess. Man, their medical infrastructure in Northern
Iraq was really spotty the last time I was there, which wasn't
all that long ago. So they're providing that within Iraq?
Mr. Gabaudan. They are providing for the urban to give
access to their own facilities, but these are simple, as you
know, and this is where they need assistance.
For the urban refugees in general, there is possibility to
access services, but the capacity of these services has been
over-stretched. And this is where this should be addressed I
think more through the development lens.
In Lebanon it's very different because in Lebanon all
health care is private. It's available but it's extremely
expensive. What you have is international NGOs picking the tab
for the refugees so that they can pay the bill in private
medical practice. It's a very expensive venture, particularly
that among the older population you have a lot of heavy need
for tertiary attention.
Mr. Burgess. Sure. Well, you mentioned professionals who
were displaced, so if you have a professional family--a doctor,
dentist, accountant--are they able to work when they get to the
new location, whether it be in a camp or just resettling in a
new country?
Mr. Gabaudan. I don't have an exact answer. I would guess
that in the camps they probably can work with some of the
international nongovernmental organizations. In the countries
they cannot work because they're not licensed.
Mr. Burgess. I see. Thank you. I'll yield back.
Mr. Cardin. I'm going to turn the gavel over to Mr.
Hastings, Congressman Hastings. When you're complete you can
adjourn the committee. I apologize. I have a 4:00 commitment.
And I want to thank, again, our witnesses. And thank you all
for your participation.
Mr. Hastings. Thank you very much, Senator. And thank you
again for holding what I perceive as a very, very important
hearing. And I hope that we have a follow-up to it, that I'll
talk to you about. I'm not going to keep you all. I just am
overwhelmed with sadness that these matters persist in the
world, not just in that particular area. The Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe now has, I believe 57
countries, 57. Very recently, or in the last two months--I
don't know how to describe them, but let's just call them
disturbances--occurred in Sweden dealing with the fact that
they had absorbed--and I'm proud of the fact that they did--a
significant number of Iraq refugees. Some of the issues, as
described at least in the media--and I have no first-hand
information, but some of the issues dealt with the fact that--
the usual inadequate housing, inadequate jobs, inadequate
education, and medical attention in a country as forthcoming as
that.
I guess my question is, Ms. Mason, do you get any
information from other countries in the OSCE region
specifically, leaving out Turkey and Jordan as a partner,
saying, you know--I heard you talk about Germany accepting
5,000, but did this particular series of events there and the
events in France, not related to this in one sense of the word,
did these kinds of uprisings cause other countries to say, I'm
not so sure that we want to accept refugees?
Ms. Mason. Thank you very much for that question because,
as you're aware, resettlement is one component of UNHCR's work.
It's one of what we call the three durable solutions. It's very
small solution.
Out of the 10 (million) or 11 million refugees around the
world that we care for, there are only about 100,000
resettlement spaces available in any given year. So we're
talking less than 1 percent of the world's refugees that can
never be resettled. But we do view it as a critical form of
protection. So we take very seriously the continued willingness
and openness of countries to receive refugees.
I'm not familiar with the specific incident in Sweden,
though I will say Sweden is one of our key partners in
resettlement. Unlike the United States, which has a very
lengthy process for admission, as the assistant secretary
mentioned, Sweden is often able to take emergency cases very
quickly, medical cases and others. So they have been a key
partner of ours.
Other European countries don't participate too much in the
resettlement system, because by virtue of geography they get a
lot of spontaneous asylum seekers and they meet one of their
international obligations to refugees by accepting asylum
seekers who come in without any help by the U.N. through the
international system.
Even though our job in resettlement is only to identify
cases that are vulnerable and refer them to countries--and then
it's up to the countries, through their own mechanisms, to take
refugees in--we of course are very aware of and concerned by
local integration prospects, security issues, anything that
would help or hinder resettlement from happening. So we do take
this very seriously.
I haven't as yet heard countries in the OSCE region or
elsewhere, our resettlement partners stepping up and saying,
you know, this has happened or that's happened; we don't want
to take in refugees. What we do tend to hear from, like, in the
U.S. is maybe one community, one group, one individual who
maybe has a perspective where they're not as familiar with the
resettlement system and all the benefits that others might be.
And that's where I would go back to what Dr. Burgess said
earlier. We do agree that it's very important to keep local
officials and communities very aware of the needs of refugees
who are coming and why they're coming. Each state, including
Texas, has a state refugee coordinator and a number of
nongovernmental organizations that work in refugee
resettlement. And they are very often keeping these local
agencies, local officials informed of what's happening. And if
they're not, I think they would welcome knowing who they could
meet with in your district and how they can provide more
information.
So to get back to the question, I haven't heard anything
about this yet. We do at times--we do hear, and that's when we
go back and try to remind them of the conditions that people
are fleeing and try to make sure that resettlement occurs as
far in advance and appropriately as possible so we can
alleviate some of those concerns.
Mr. Hastings. Ms. Bittar and Dr. Gabaudan spoke about the
nonprofit groups in Syria specifically that are not in the
loop. What is your interaction, if any, with Ms. Bittar and her
group?
And the same goes--since Dr. Gabaudan identified it first,
for my ears at least--what does UNHCR do, and should you not be
making attempts to have these particular groups involved
since--for lack of a better way of putting it, when I was a
child in Altamonte Springs I would have been able to deliver
more than most outsiders because I had access to the people and
I was one of them.
Ms. Mason. Absolutely. If you're referring specifically
about inside Syria in terms of assistance----
Mr. Hastings. Yeah, inside Syria.
Ms. Mason. As mentioned, we're only one of a number of U.N.
and other agencies that are working inside Syria. Because of
legal restrictions the U.N. is not able to do cross-border
assistance right now without a change, but we are doing inside
Syria what we call cross-lines assistance--assistance going
through Damascus up to the north and other places where there
are concentrations of displaced persons that need help.
It's certainly not enough. I wouldn't pretend to say it's
enough. But we are doing what we can. And for the actual
distribution we are working with the Assistance Coordination
Unit, and we're working with some NGOs. I'm not familiar with
exact names of who we're dealing with, but we are working with
them. We want to do more. We want to do a lot more. Part of it
is capacity. Part of it is of course the security inside Syria.
Mr. Hastings. Two more quick questions. One to you, Dr.
Gabaudan.
You mention in your statement the zero-point distribution
system that Turkey utilizes. I'm asking for information. Can
you tell me a little bit more about how that works and whether
or not it would help, then, a national community, or could it?
Mr. Gabaudan. I think it does. Turkey does not want to do
cross-border operation itself because that would be a violation
of the sovereignty of Syrians. They have been quite clear on
that. However, they do tolerate the passage of goods from
Turkey to Syria by agencies who are in Syria. But the zero-
point is really on the border, a place where Turkish trucks
empties its goods into a Syrian truck and then the NGO can take
these.
Mr. Hastings. Yeah. Right. OK.
Ms. Bittar, you ended your testimony--and I'll quote you,
and you correct me if I'm wrong--you said the United States has
to demonstrate strong resolve and serious commitment to helping
solve the conflict in Syria, the root cause--you said other
things before this--the root cause of the humanitarian
disaster.
In your opinion, what specifically would you have the
United States--and I don't mean you specifically but the
organization and others that you work with, and you--what would
you have the United States and the international community do
to try to bring an end to the violence in Syria?
Ms. Bittar. Definitely. I would say that it's a three-
pronged approach.
First we would start with--the United States would start
with exerting more political pressure in that we would cut off
all--any kind of support in that--even, like, with the lack of
statements, for example, against Assad--against the Assad
regime.
Second, we would also empower the Syrian Coalition, which
is now in place, as well as the interim government, so that
they can meet the needs of the people on the ground. And then
there's also--we must be pressuring the Lebanese government to
do what they can to ensure that Hezbollah troops do not travel
into Syria to fight with the Assad regime.
The second prong we would say is to exert further military
pressure in that the U.S. should be supplying arms, defensive
arms, strategic arms, to the Supreme Military Council, the
structure in place under General Commander Salim Idris, that
works with the majority of the Free Syrian Army battalions on
the ground, the good guys on the ground, those that align with
the vision for a free Syria, that we share here in the U.S., so
that we can help unify them, so that we can kind of elbow out
the influence of the extremist groups on the ground so that
they do not gain anymore popularity and do not continue to win
the hearts and minds of the people.
And then, finally, we should support the civilian
governance that is taking place. So we have the political
track. We have the military track. And the political and the
military track are aimed at changing Assad's calculations so
that he sees that the international community will not let him
continue what he's doing, because at this moment in time he's
emboldened by Iran's support. He's emboldened by Hezbollah's
support. So we must do something to force him to the table,
force him to negotiate, or force a political settlement for
Syria.
And at the same time, we should be supporting the civilian
governance on the ground that I mentioned earlier. There are
these civilian structures, democratically elected structures on
the ground who need to be empowered so that the civilians are
meeting the needs of the people rather than the military arm or
the extremist elements inside Syria, so as to strengthen their
legitimacy on the ground and also kind of help in the
transition post-Assad.
So in regards to your question, sir, I would believe it's
the three-pronged approach of political pressure, military
pressure--which we haven't seen enough of by the international
community--to force Assad to the table, and then finally,
continue the support to the civilians governance so that the
transition post-Assad is not as chaotic and does not spillover
into the region.
Mr. Hastings. Well, one thing I wish that the media would
pay more attention to is the long-standing direct involvement
that the Russian government and the previous Soviet Union--and
I often wonder, if we had made a deal with them to assure that
they kept their warm-water port, whether or not some of this
would be a little different at this time.
I'm not sure that I agree that military, even in the short
term, is going to help. I'm so confused by it all. I'll give
you an example. When I met with Bashir Assad, I already knew
that Iran was supplying military materiel to Hezbollah. I
specifically asked him, and he allowed--because I'd been in the
region an awful lot but I had never had an opportunity to take
that two-hour drive from Damascus to Lebanon through the Beqaa
Valley. He granted it and assured that we would be safe and all
of that, and it was OK. And we met with Mr. Hariri on the other
side when we got to Lebanon.
But I asked him specifically whether or not Iran used Syria
as a transition point for military materiel to be distributed
specially to Hezbollah, and of course he gave me a long story
as to why that is not true and the international community
has--later that same day I learned that as we were speaking he
moved apparatus.
Now, he knew that I served on the Intelligence Committee
and I would know that. All I'm saying is I'm not sure how you
bring an abject liar to truth. I hope at some point--not from
the standpoint of what Ms. Mason and Dr. Gabaudan do--and lord
knows they don't have enough resources to do what they need to
do anywhere, but I hope at some point the international
community insists that people like Assad and others be brought
to justice in a meaningful way. I don't know that it will ever
stop this greed, this power-mongering, this continuing pattern
of people not being able to resolve their differences. I don't
see good things happening in Syria either way. That's just me.
I thank you all. You know so much.
Mr. Burgess. One follow-up. Ms. Bittar, since you've
broached the question, I'm going to ask it. OK, the last 10, 12
years you've seen the displacement of Mullah Omar in
Afghanistan and the result there. You've seen the displacement
of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the result there, the
displacement of Hosni Mubarak and the result there, the
displacement of Gaddafi in Libya and the result there. Are any
of those models to which Syria aspires right now?
Ms. Bittar. What I can tell you about the Syrian people is
that--from my experience with them--I'm Syrian-American and I
traveled back to Syria every summer since I was born. I was
born here, though, in the United States. And my interactions
with them on the ground, and as well as the narrative of the
Syrian revolution, in that since day one what they were calling
for is a democracy. What they were calling for is the right to
elect their own government.
These people, we've lived together for hundreds of years--
Muslims, Christians, Alawites, Shiites. We've all lived
together for hundreds of years in Syria. Of course, throughout
history you'll find disputes and things like that, but it's an
ethnically diverse, religiously diverse country that's been
able to thrive together.
And so its history kind of speaks to the cohesion and the
bonds that exist between the people, as well as coupling that
with the narrative of the revolution. Since day one the people
are calling for freedom and democracy. They're calling for--you
know, they weren't calling for--there were no sectarian
slogans, nothing like that--calling for a Syria that represents
all Syrian people.
And I believe, furthermore, the Syrian--the majority of the
Muslim population is a very moderate Islam, again speaking to
my experience with them on the ground. But the further that
this situation goes and the lack of international community
support has led to frustration of course with the international
community and kind of pushed towards some extreme ideologies.
But the core Syrian people, their beliefs and their values
align with what we all believe, what we see here, in that they
want a Syria that represents all Syrians, regardless of
ethnicity, religion.
And I do believe--and I think when you talk to Syrians on
the ground, that is what their dream and their wish for a
future Syria is. But again, the longer that this takes, the
longer that this problem goes on, there are more questions in
the air. So the key is helping bring a solution now so that
these--so that these groups and these ideals and these beliefs
can really show and we can start taking the steps towards a
post-Assad Syria, a Syria that all Syrians are asking for.
Mr. Burgess. I find myself strangely aligned with Mr.
Hastings. And perhaps that's because we've spent so much time
together the past two days. But perhaps that's a good note on
which to end. And I thank you for your tolerance and I'll yield
back.
Mr. Hastings. Thank you very much.
And I certainly thank all of you. There's so much more. I
hope we get a chance, some of us, to visit personally so that
we can perhaps have a meeting about solutions and not just
discuss the problems. You've enlightened us a great deal. And
again I thank Chairman Cardin and our incredible staff for
pulling this hearing together. And I thank you all, ladies and
gentlemen, for being with us today.
I regret very much--and when I chaired the commission I
tried to open a process where people who have to sit and listen
would have an opportunity to ask questions or make statements
themselves. Staff didn't like it. I still think it worked. It's
boring as hell to come up here and not get a chance to say what
you want to say. Somehow or another there's something
incredibly wrong with the way we go about doing this, and I
think that we could relax it a little bit and learn a great
deal more from people sitting in this audience that have a
whole lot of information that would be useful to this process.
But these incredible witnesses have done a magnificent job, and
I thank you all for being here. The hearing is closed.
A P P E N D I X
=======================================================================
Prepared Statements
__________
Prepared Statement of Hon. Michael Burgess, Commissioner, Commission on
Security and Cooperation in Europe
Thank you Mr. Chairman for the recognition and for calling this
hearing today.
In January of 2011, when Syrian protestors took to the streets
demanding democracy and the ouster of dictator Bashar al-Assad, they
were one of last countries to participate in what has been known as the
Arab Spring. This revolutionary wave of demonstrations was a historic
one as oppressive and totalitarian governments were toppled giving way
to liberty, freedom and the rule of law.
However, a full two and a half years later, the civil war in Syria
drags on and on with no end in sight. In fact, just this morning,
United Nations' human rights office said that almost 93,000 people have
been confirmed killed in the Syrian conflict, with half as much thought
to be civilians.
Equally as alarming is that the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees claims that as many as 5 million Syrians have been
displaced within the country and 1.6 million had fled to neighboring
countries to escape the carnage. This is beyond a humanitarian
disaster. It should not be surprising that OSCE member states such as
Jordan and Turkey have graciously opened their borders and taken in
hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees. To be sure, as states that
have sworn an oath to a peaceful approach to conflict management and
post-conflict rehabilitation, these countries have exemplified the
practice of OSCE members.
However, accepting these refugees has not come without consequence.
An average of 8,000 Syrians are crossing the border into surrounding
states each day, putting an increasing political and financial strain
on the countries that have accepted them. Indeed, nations making up the
Syria Regional Response Plan have requested almost $3 billion,
including Lebanon and Jordan that have requested a combined $1.5
billion.
The world has responded. Nations such as the United Kingdom and
Germany have given hundreds of millions of dollars. The United States
has also had no such difficulty acting, giving more than $500 million
in humanitarian aid.
This war must end. And the United States, together with its
international partners in the OSCE, will continue to pledge support
towards the Syrian refugees who stood up the face of a tyrant and
demanded their freedom.
Again, Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this hearing. I also
thank the witnesses for appearing here and am interested in their views
as to what actions the United States needs to take going forward to end
the refugee crises.
Prepared Statement of Anne C. Richard, Assistant Secretary for
Population, Refugees and Migration, U.S. Department of State
__________
Turkey
Current Situation: Turkey currently is hosting more than 376,000
registered or soon to be registered refugees spread across eight
provinces. In addition, tens of thousands of Syrians have sought refuge
in Turkey without registering their presence with authorities,
according to estimates provided by the Government of Turkey. About
150,000 refugees have arrived since the start of this year as violence
in Syria has intensified. Roughly 200,000 refugees live in 17 camps
near the border with Syria, while the rest are dispersed in cities and
villages throughout the country. With no end in sight to the Syria
conflict, Turkish officials and international relief organizations are
bracing for up to a million Syrian refugees (UNHCR estimates) in Turkey
by the end of 2013.
While Turkey is in the process of building or planning an
additional seven camps, it is clear that camp capacity will be
insufficient to absorb the increasing numbers of refugees in need of
assistance. Initial urban registration efforts point to increasing
numbers and needs. The majority of those coming to Turkey are fleeing
violence in northern Syria, which includes the major cities of Aleppo,
Raqqah, Idlib, and Hasakah. Given the high numbers of Internally
Displaced Persons (IDPs) in northern Syria and the continuing violence,
significant additional refugee inflows to Turkey are likely.
Progress Made: It is worth recalling Chairman Cardin's words of
praise in a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing last March about
the generosity shown by the Turkish people and their government to the
hundreds of thousands of Syrians who have fled to Turkey seeking safety
for their families. The Turkish Government has expended more than $700
million, and up to $1 billion according to some estimates, to address
the enormous needs of the refugee population. Communities across Turkey
have opened their doors to Syrian families seeking shelter, food, and
security. Turkey's response is virtually unprecedented in refugee
crises.
The Government of Turkey maintains a temporary protection regime
and an open border policy for refugees fleeing the violence in Syria
and has invited and receives the guidance of UNHCR on refugee
protection issues. The Turkish government has worked hard to keep
Turkey's borders open to the many thousands of vulnerable individuals
and families who have sought refuge in Turkey, and it has done so
despite considerable financial, security, and political risks. Turkish
authorities pride themselves on the ability to care for and provide
protection to Syrian refugees, whom they refer to as ``guests.'' In
this capacity they have been gracious hosts, providing services in
camps that have always met, and in many cases exceeded, international
standards of humanitarian assistance. Turkey also makes available
temporary residency to Syrian passport holders who have been in the
country for more than six months, and has begun registration of
undocumented urban refugees. This registration provides access to free
medical care. Turkish authorities in refugee-hosting provinces have
also reached out to NGOs to help respond to refugee needs.
According to UN reporting, authorities and relief organizations are
combining their efforts to construct and furnish new schools for
communities heavily impacted by the influx of students from refugee
families. The Government of Turkey announced in January that free
medical services would be provided for registered refugees living
outside of camps, and this announcement was followed by a recent
decision to provide free medication to Syrians as well. We applaud the
Turkish Government's recent decision to allow accredited Syrian doctors
to practice in clinics and hospitals with large numbers of refugee
patients. Recognizing the trauma suffered by the victims of Syria's
conflict, we are encouraged that the Turkish government has placed
social workers in most refugee camps and plans to work with UNHCR,
UNICEF and UNFPA to expand programs to address the trauma-related needs
of the refugee population.
Challenges: The challenges facing Turkey are far too great for any
one country, even one as committed to the issue and as financially
capable as Turkey, to fully provide for the magnitude of needs.
Projections that the refugee population will likely grow to a million
by year's end mean that Turkish officials, local communities, and the
international humanitarian community are hard-pressed to keep pace with
expanding humanitarian needs. Many of our operational partners are
struggling with limited resources, while trying to plan for ``worst-
case'' contingencies such as a sudden massive surge of new refugees far
beyond what has been projected.
Plans calling for refugee camps to reach a combined capacity of
300,000 necessitate considerable resources for construction of new
camps and expansion of services to them. Surveys of new refugees
indicate that many had been displaced internally in Syria for months
and their personal resources were often exhausted by the time they
reached refuge in Turkey. In other words, increasingly impoverished
refugees are arriving in Turkish border areas. Refugees not
accommodated in camps often face considerable challenges in finding and
maintaining adequate shelter and providing for other basic needs.
Anecdotal accounts of child labor by particularly desperate refugees
are increasing; begging by women and children leaves them vulnerable to
exploitation and abuse. Exacerbating the situation in host communities
is the fact that some Turkish households have lost more than half their
annual income as a result of lost commerce with Syria.
Despite offers by some Turkish communities to enroll refugee
students in local schools and the generous support of some governorates
and municipalities to establish schools with Syrian teachers, many
Syrian children reportedly remain unable to attend because they face
language barriers, because schools have reached their maximum capacity,
or because they lack the necessary documentation to register. Parents
are often reluctant to send children to schools where the curriculum is
taught in another language or where attendance may not lead to credit
necessary for transferring back into the Syrian school system when
refugees return. UNICEF reports that fewer than 23 percent of Syrian
children in Turkey are enrolled in school.
The security situation is adding to the challenges already faced by
Turkey in caring for such a large population. The recent bombings that
took place in Reyhanli left over 50 dead and were the deadliest in
Turkey in over a decade. Reyhanli, a city on the border with Syria, has
sheltered thousands of Syrian refugees. The attack, which has been
linked to Government of Syria agents, prompted backlash by the Turkish
community against Syrian refugees and against the Turkish government's
deeply pro-opposition stance. Many Syrian refugees, fearing for their
safety, fled from Reyhanli in the wake of the attack. Some even
returned to Syria While not a daily occurrence, regular skirmishes
involving fire between Turkish security forces and Syrians have
occurred along the border. There have also been several incidents
involving clashes between Syrian refugees and Turkish authorities in
camps although order and calm have always been quickly restored. The
Syrian regime's bombings of IDP camps and other rebel strongholds in
Syria have occurred in close proximity to the Turkish border.
Meanwhile, a wave of protests against the Prime Minister is unfolding
across the country, adding a new layer of uncertainty and concern among
the public.
Strategies and Plans: The U.S. government is providing over $43
million in humanitarian assistance for Syrian refugees in Turkey,
including nearly $37 million from the Bureau of Population, Refugees,
and Migration (PRM). Through funding to UNHCR, UNICEF, UNFPA, IOM,
IFRC, WFP, and several NGOs, the U.S. Government has strongly supported
the Turkish relief effort. In coming weeks we will look at making an
additional contribution in response to the growing needs of refugees
and host communities.
The updated UN appeal for Turkey has grown to a cumulative total of
$372.3 million. This combined appeal reflects the coordinated
intentions of the major international organizations in Turkey and was
closely coordinated with the Government of Turkey. It contains several
key elements designed to address some of the most pressing needs of
Syrians in Turkey. UNHCR, for example, will provide additional shelter
support (tents and containers), cooking utensils, blankets and communal
water and sanitation facilities for the camps as well as emergency
shelter assistance and blankets for the urban populations. Multiple
organizations plan to continue reaching out to vulnerable urban
refugees to help the Turkish government identify them and better
understand their needs. WFP is prepared to expand funding of its
electronic food card program to include refugees living in Turkish
communities if the Government of Turkey requests food assistance
outside of camps. UN programs will also provide support to survivors of
sexual and gender-based violence and will enhance child protection.
UNHCR and UNFPA plan to work with the Turkish Government to examine
issues surrounding sexual abuse.
UN support to health facilities, and UN provision of mobile health
clinics in urban areas and container clinics in camps will bolster the
health sector. WHO will support the coordination and training of Syrian
doctors in Turkey as well as provide emergency medication in the camp
and urban settings. We are also supporting NGOs to build capacity in
Syrian clinics. UNICEF and other partners plan to assist educational
systems by refurbishing more schools, providing more prefabricated
classrooms and teacher trainings, and supporting recruitment of more
educators. Meanwhile, our NGO programming already helps to create child
friendly spaces, provide psychological support to children, and address
urgent psychosocial needs among vulnerable refugees.
Turkey has proven to be a strong partner as we work to meet the
needs of an ever increasing population of Syrian refugees. Like any
country facing such a pronounced influx of people, Turkey needs support
in order to continue addressing these needs, prepare for contingencies,
and prevent the conflict from adversely affecting its own security. We
are prepared to continue doing whatever we can to help Turkey face
these serious challenges.
Jordan
Current Situation: 473,000 Syrian refugees have fled to Jordan, an
increase of nearly 200 percent since January 2013. The massive influx
during the first half of the year has far outpaced projections,
indicating that Jordan may be coping with as many as one million Syrian
refugees by the end of this year. Currently about three-quarters of the
refugees live in Jordanian towns and villages, while one-quarter live
in camps.
With northern Jordanian communities increasingly overwhelmed by the
refugee influx and even greater numbers anticipated in coming months,
Jordanian authorities are placing a higher priority on steering new
arrivals to designated refugee camps that are expected to shelter as
many as 300,000 refugees by year's end. Two camps currently host Syrian
refugees: Za'atri camp, which is nearing capacity with 110,000
occupants; and the Emirati Jordanian Camp that opened in April with an
initial capacity of 5,000 but a potential long-term capacity of 30,000
or more. The Government of Jordan and UNHCR are constructing a third
camp, Azraq, with an eventual capacity of 130,000 occupants. In
addition to Syrian nationals, about 6,700 Palestinian refugees who
lived for decades in Syria have fled to Jordan, and are expected to
number about 10,000 by December.
Progress Made: The Government and people of Jordan have strived to
cope with the unprecedented refugee influx with hospitality and
tolerance. The government has significantly expanded the number of
registration centers in urban areas, including in Amman, to help
refugees register their presence and more easily access assistance
programs. The Government of Jordan pays for water and sanitation
services for refugees living in host communities and permits refugee
families to utilize public health services side-by-side with Jordanian
citizens. Vaccinations and maternity care are provided free of charge.
More than 200,000 refugees receive food aid with UN support, and 40,000
receive regular, direct cash assistance payments.
The government is working with UNHCR to reorganize Za'atri camp in
order to improve security and living standards, including by
transitioning residents from tents to prefabricated shelters. In
reaction to concerns about a measles outbreak, authorities and relief
workers have vaccinated 90 percent of Za'atri's occupants. The
humanitarian operation that provides services to Za'atri is impressive
in its scale: some 3.4 million liters of water are trucked to the camp
daily; some 220,000 blankets and more than 300,000 mattresses and
sleeping mats have been distributed in the camp since January.
The Jordanian government's willingness to be flexible and
innovative in response to the humanitarian emergency is impressive. In
January, the Government of Jordan established a Syrian Refugee Camp
Department to help officials focus on camp security and assistance
needs. Officials are in the process of finalizing national guidelines
for more consistent handling of child protection cases and gender-based
violence. During the past half-year, authorities have given UNHCR
greater access to border areas and have allowed a 50 percent increase
in the number of international humanitarian organizations authorized to
work in the country.
Challenges: There are troubling signs that the Jordanians'
impressive hospitality is wearing thin under the relentless pressure of
ever-rising refugee numbers. UNHCR and UNRWA have expressed concern
over reports that border guards have denied entry to Syrians and
Palestinians seeking refuge. The Jordanian Parliament earlier this year
called for tighter restrictions on the entry of refugees into the
country. A local newspaper survey reported that nearly three of every
four Jordanians favored closing the border. Jordanian policies restrict
the ability of refugees to find legal employment, increasing their
vulnerability. Water shortages looming in the hot season and scheduled
increases in electricity tariffs may produce added social tensions.
Support to northern Jordan is a priority, as large numbers of Syrian
refugees have settled into some of Jordan's poorest rural communities,
triggering higher prices for rent and food for refugees and residents
alike.
Health workers report that health clinics and hospitals are
overwhelmed by patients, particularly in northern Jordan. A
considerable number of patients arrive suffering from life-threatening
wounds related to the conflict and requiring emergency attention and
prolonged recovery and rehabilitation. Shelter experts report that they
are finding more Syrians living in crowded, disrepaired, substandard
housing because it is the only shelter refugees can afford due to the
higher rents caused by the tight housing market.
Due in part to its sheer size, conditions in Za'atri camp have been
difficult to improve despite efforts by the Government and UNHCR. The
camp is seriously overcrowded and suffers from rampant vandalism,
security incidents, and civil unrest on an almost daily basis. Plans to
install better lighting in the camp to improve security at night have
been delayed because of concerns that elements in the camp would
vandalize light fixtures. Large numbers of refugees have left Za'atri
camp to strike out on their own in search of better conditions
elsewhere in Jordan; relief workers warn that better monitoring is
required to ensure that these highly vulnerable individuals are not
becoming victimized by exploitation and trafficking networks.
In short, there is a pervasive sense in Jordan that all parts of
the humanitarian community are doing more and have committed more
resources, yet are falling behind the pace of events and the burgeoning
humanitarian needs.
Strategies and Plans: The U.S. government is providing more than
$101 million to support humanitarian operations for refugees from Syria
in Jordan since the crisis began. We will look closely at increasing
our contribution in coming weeks, in response to the expanding needs
and the revised UN appeal released last week. The UN's revised appeal
calls for a cumulative total of $976 million to address protection and
assistance needs in Jordan alone. The UN appeal seeks to ramp up
assistance not only to the country's current and future refugees, but
also to a half-million Jordanian residents in hard-hit host
communities. We agree that is the right approach.
Our number one priority in Jordan is to maintain open borders so
that traumatized victims of the Syrian conflict can reach safety. To
encourage keeping the borders open for refugees, the international
community must continue to work closely with the Government of Jordan
to support the massive relief operation underway, help pay for the
expensive but absolutely necessary expansion of refugee camps to
accommodate ever-more refugee arrivals, and direct more services to
refugees and the local Jordanian communities struggling to absorb them.
In the second half of 2013, PRM will place a priority on supporting
stronger programs in Jordan to register Syrian refugees so that they
can access basic services, construction of new and expanded refugee
camps, services that benefit Jordanian communities impacted by the
refugee influx, health care for life-saving activities, and protection
programs that target the needs of women and children. We also will
encourage our operational partners in Jordan to put more contingency
plans in place given the risk of further deterioration inside Syria.
We are working closely with our interagency colleagues to implement
a whole-of-government approach to boost support to host governments and
communities in the region, including more bilateral economic and
development aid to help maintain and expand public services for all
populations. USAID/Jordan is already providing assistance to Jordanian
host communities. In addition to a $200 million cash transfer to the
Government of Jordan to help alleviate budget pressures caused by the
influx of Syrian refugees, USAID has also identified additional sources
of funding and adapted other bilateral projects to support essential
services in water, education, and health, and added support for
vulnerable populations in response to the impacts of the Syrian crisis.
Our focus on areas heavily affected by the Syrian refugee influx
includes programs for health and education, as well as capacity-
building for affected municipalities. We have also urged the United
Nations to allow local people to benefit from assistance programs in
order to ease local tensions.
We are encouraged that the updated UN appeal emphasizes the need
for improved refugee shelters and will strengthen refugee registration
programs to more effectively identify survivors of sexual and gender-
based violence and other traumas. UN and NGO agencies will seek to
bolster Jordan's education system by adding prefabricated classrooms,
teacher training, and financial support so that refugee students can
receive the less visible help many of them need, such as psycho-social
programs and skills training in vocational education activities.
We will continue to pay special attention to the need for dramatic
improvements to security in Za'atri camp. We are working with the
Government of Jordan on ideas to improve security in the camp, which we
hope to be able to discuss in the near future.
Lebanon
Current Situation: Lebanon is facing a significant crisis as the
Syrian conflict encroaches further into Lebanese affairs. Attacks from
Syria targeting Lebanese towns and villages in the Bekaa and north have
become a daily reality. Forces of the Syrian regime regularly violate
Lebanese territory. Tripoli's Sunni and Alawite communities are
engaging in escalating street battles, and Beirut and Sidon are on edge
as sectarian and political tensions flare. Hizballah's increasing
involvement in Syria, including sending its fighters to assault Syrians
on behalf of the Asad regime, is threatening Lebanese stability,
exacerbating sectarian tensions, and is contrary to the Government of
Lebanon's stated policy of disassociation from the Syrian conflict.
Lebanon hosts more than 513,000 Syrian refugees, more than half of
whom have arrived in the past five months. Thousands of Lebanese
migrant workers who have worked on Syrian farms for years have lost
their livelihoods and been forced to return home. More than 57,000
Palestinian refugees from Syria have fled to Lebanon. As the
overwhelming needs of these vulnerable populations continue to grow,
Lebanon is at risk of being torn apart at its sectarian seams.
Review of Humanitarian Efforts: Despite these challenges, Lebanon
has consistently maintained an open border to all those fleeing the
violence and is working closely with UN agencies and NGO partners to
provide assistance to those in need. The Ministry of Social Affairs has
activated its large network of Social Development Centers to
disseminate information on available services to the refugee community.
Lebanon has enrolled 30,000 Syrian refugee children in nearly 1,000
public schools. And refugees are receiving medical care at public
hospitals and clinics around the country.
Registration is a key protection strategy to identify the most
vulnerable and to ensure access to appropriate services. We commend
UNHCR's herculean effort to scale up its registration capacity, which
has cut the waiting time for new arrivals to less than 30 days. The
World Food Program is delivering food assistance to some 220,000
persons, and UNHCR and implementing partners have distributed thousands
of blankets, mattresses, and hygiene kits to those in need. The World
Health Organization (WHO) has supported the Lebanese Ministry of Health
to conduct a measles vaccination campaign for 460,000 Syrian and
Lebanese children.
Concerns/Challenges: The Government of Lebanon's caretaker status
has prevented any major policy decisions in terms of the refugee
response. Due to lack of funding, the government's High Relief
Commission was forced to suspend funding of secondary health care for
Syrian refugees in July 2012. The Government has worked closely with
the UN and NGO partners to identify needs and to coordinate the overall
humanitarian response, but the overwhelming volume of needs will
require a strategic, targeted approach to focus on the most vulnerable
cases.
Shelter is a particular challenge in Lebanon, as the Government of
Lebanon has expressly avoided establishing camps for Syrian refugees.
Nearly all of the 513,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon reside in host
communities, renting apartments and spare rooms or sharing space with a
Lebanese family. The massive inflows to host communities in recent
months have resulted in a dwindling number of buildings available for
rehabilitation. Meanwhile, the potential for collective shelters is
limited. Partners have agreed on the need to establish transit sites to
accommodate new arrivals, but await the government's final approval for
this approach given political sensitivities to refugee camps in
Lebanese society. A disturbing new trend is the development of over 200
informal tented settlements throughout the Bekaa valley and northern
Lebanon. These improvised shelters are often sub-standard, with limited
or no sanitation facilities and located in areas prone to flooding and
at risk of fire. UNHCR and other partners have prioritized the
provision of assistance to these vulnerable communities to avoid the
outbreak of communicable diseases and to improve shelter quality before
next winter.
More than 57,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria have fled fighting
in the Damascus area and have moved into overcrowded existing
Palestinian camps with poor living conditions. Tensions already run
high in these camps, which were overcrowded, volatile, and in disrepair
before the arrival of Palestinian refugees from Syria that increased
the overall Palestinian population in country by approximately 20
percent. U.S. support to UNRWA in Lebanon provides needed assistance to
this population, including cash assistance, relief supplies, education,
and medical care.
Priorities/Strategies/Plans: The U.S. Government is providing more
than $88 million to support humanitarian operations in Lebanon for
refugees fleeing the violence in Syria. The UN has requested $1.2
billion in the revised appeal to support humanitarian assistance
programs in Lebanon. Needs have consistently outstripped response
capacity, and the projected toll of hosting up to one million Syrian
refugees by the end of 2013 point to the need for broader economic and
development support from the international community. The Government of
Lebanon has identified an additional $450 million needed to support
national institutions, including the Ministries of Health, Education,
and Social Affairs.
Prepositioning of humanitarian supplies will be crucial to enabling
a flexible, rapid response that is prepared for a massive influx of
Syrian refugees from the Damascus area, should violence significantly
increase. The UN has prioritized $17.5 million in the revised appeal to
prepare shelter stocks for up to 100,000 people, as well as $21.8
million for basic essentials such as mattresses, hygiene kits,
clothing, heaters, and other items that a sudden influx of refugees
will require. The United States commends this focus on preparedness,
and will support these efforts through ongoing financial contributions
to humanitarian partners and identifying ways to target bilateral
assistance to address Lebanon's most urgent needs as it continues to
respond to this crisis.
USAID, through its current programming, has intensified efforts to
support Lebanese communities most heavily affected by the Syrian crisis
through activities that address three key challenges: local service
delivery; conflict mitigation; and income generation/livelihoods. From
education to water to agriculture and local governance, many of these
activities improve service delivery, expand economic and educational
opportunities, and support youth to encourage their participation in
resolving community concerns.
Iraq
Current Situation: Some 157,000 Syrian refugees have fled to Iraq,
an increase of at least 89,000 since the start of the year. During the
first half of the year, 600-800 Syrians arrived daily. The UN projects
that the number of refugees may double to 350,000 by the end of 2013.
About 65 percent of registered refugees are in mostly urban settings,
while 35 percent live in three camps.
The vast majority of refugees fled into Iraq's Kurdish Region,
where many have ethnic and familial ties. Set up by the Kurdistan
Regional Government, Domiz camp accommodates approximately 50,000
persons. Another 3,200 refugees reside in two camps established by the
Government of Iraq in Anbar province at al-Qa'im. An additional camp is
under construction in Erbil province and will eventually accommodate
12,000 refugees. Many Syrian refugees have returned to Syria in recent
weeks to check on property, visit family, or to settle back into
localities where security has improved.
Progress Made: National and local authorities in the Kurdish Region
responded generously to the refugee influx and moved quickly to
establish services with support from the international community. The
Kurdish community launched a fundraising drive to provide food and
other emergency supplies to the Syrian Kurdish refugees flooding into
the Kurdish Region. While more remains to be done, the Kurdistan
Regional Government worked hard to facilitate relief efforts by UNHCR
and other UN humanitarian agencies working in Domiz refugee camp. The
Council of Ministers of the central government recently approved a $5.2
million transfer to the Kurdistan Regional Government to support
services such as water, electricity and road construction.
Some 40,000 refugees received supplies to insulate their shelters
against winter weather. WFP has operated a school feeding program for
refugee children during the past year and established a U.S.
Government-funded food voucher program covering approximately 48,000
refugees in Domiz camp. WFP also does monthly food distributions in the
al-Qa'im camps. The refugee camps offer free primary health services,
including for reproductive and mental health. UNHCR recently launched a
new working group to coordinate responses for Syrian refugees in urban
areas of the Independent Kurdish Region. UNHCR is beginning to
distribute cash assistance of $200-$800 (dependent on family size) to
extremely vulnerable refugees in Erbil, Dohuk, and Sulimaniyah.
Challenges: Border closures are a primary concern. The Government
of Iraq closed the al-Qa'im border crossing into Anbar province in
October 2012--except for urgent medical cases--citing security concerns
about potential infiltration by extremists. Entreaties from the U.S.
Government and others to balance legitimate security concerns with the
humanitarian imperative to provide refuge to those fleeing violence,
including offers to assist with border screening procedures, have not
succeeded in convincing Iraqi authorities. At the end of March, Rabiya
border crossing was also closed. On May 19, the Kurdistan Regional
Government closed Fishkabour border, the main crossing point into
northern Iraq, reportedly due to political tensions between Kurdish
groups.
Serious overcrowding in Domiz camp is another emerging challenge.
While authorities and humanitarian agencies managed to meet the most
important needs of the first waves of refugees, continued inflows have
raised tensions among camp residents and have produced sanitation
problems that expose camp residents to disease. Increased rates of
hepatitis and diarrheal disease among children have been reported.
Nearly 1,000 families in Domiz live in makeshift shelters because the
camp has no more land formally allocated to erect tents within the
camp's current boundaries. Some 3,500 families are cohabitating in
tents with other families for that reason. Additional land has been
allocated for new sections, but construction has been slow. In
anticipation of continued influxes, UN officials worked with local
Kurdish officials to identify suitable land in Sulimaniyah for
additional camps, but construction is delayed until after the harvest.
Education concerns in the camp also need attention. Despite the opening
of a third school in April, less than 40 percent of school-age children
in Domiz are enrolled.
The combination of substandard conditions in Domiz camp and
restrictions imposed on refugees' freedom of movement in areas beyond
the Independent Kurdish Region are believed to be among several factors
that have prompted more than 11,000 Syrian refugees to return to Syria
despite the dangers there. While services inside the al-Qa'im camps in
Anbar generally meet basic needs, refugees are required to stay inside
camps, which limits their ability to engage in economic activities to
support themselves and prevents them from visiting relatives in the
area. Refugees are increasingly opting to return to Syria out of
frustration with the lack of freedom of movement. Relief agencies
report anecdotally that camp schools are experiencing high dropout
rates because of child labor and early marriages propelled by economic
and social stresses facing refugee households.
More information is needed about the living conditions of the more
than 100,000 registered refugees living in Iraqi host communities, as
well as those who have not been registered. The Kurdistan Regional
Government stopped issuing residency permits to refugees in May 2013,
making it harder for refugees living in the Kurdish Region to access
local public services such as health centers and schools.
Strategies and Plans: The U.S. Government will continue to
encourage Iraqi authorities to maintain open borders between Iraq and
Syria. It is critical that persons seeking to flee the horrific
violence in Syria are able to do so. We will also continue to press the
Kurdistan Regional Government to approve additional land in suitable
locations to keep pace with the refugee influx that is almost certain
to continue in the second half of this year and to allow our
humanitarian partners to assist refugees regardless of where they
reside. The aggregate UN appeal for the refugee emergency in Iraq is
$310.8 million. The U.S. Government is providing nearly $19 million to
refugee relief operations in Iraq thus far, in addition to PRM's
general regional contributions, and will announce additional support in
the near future. Separately, we have also offered our assistance to the
Government of Iraq to improve its border security, including to address
a possible spillover of chemical weapons.
We are pleased that the newly updated UN appeal includes a stronger
emphasis on efforts to support the heavily impacted local communities
that shelter Syrian refugees. The UN strategy would provide support not
only to Syrian refugees but also to some 50,000 Iraqi citizens living
in areas with large refugee concentrations. The appeal proposes to
provide more medicines, equipment, and training to local Iraqi health
clinics; rehabilitation of local schools that Syrian refugees used as
temporary shelters; and cash assistance to refugee families so that
they can purchase essential supplies directly from local merchants. We
strongly encourage authorities in Iraq to work closely with
humanitarian agencies to reach the most vulnerable people--both Syrian
and Iraqi--living in those host communities.
Egypt
Current Situation: The humanitarian impact of the conflict in Syria
has spilled into North Africa. UNHCR had registered 59,885 Syrians with
19,382 still awaiting registration as of June 9. These numbers
represent a near doubling of the Syrian refugee population in the past
two months. UNHCR predicts that up to 500,000 Syrians (registered and
non-registered) could be present in Egypt by the end of 2013.
Syrians are relocating to Egypt rather than to adjacent countries
for a range of reasons: pre-existing familial or community connections,
the relatively high costs of living in neighboring countries,
perceptions of fewer security risks and better employment opportunities
in Egypt, and an opportunity to live with fewer restrictions. Until
June 2012, Syrians arriving in Egypt were primarily middle- to upper-
middle class families with sufficient resources to reside in affluent
areas of the capital or other cities. Although Cairo, Alexandria and
Damietta are the primary locations hosting Syrians, a growing number
have relocated to poorer neighborhoods of Greater Cairo because it is
more affordable for families with limited resources. It is anticipated
that refugee arrivals will continue to increase as the school year in
Syria comes to an end.
Progress Made: The Government of Egypt, civil society, and
charitable organizations have responded generously to the needs of
Syrian refugees. The Egyptian government grants Syrians a visa-free
entry followed by a renewable three-month residency, as well as access
to public schools and hospitals. After this period, Syrians are
expected to regularize their stay by extending their residency permits
every six months. Syrians with children enrolled in school can obtain
one-year residency permits. Syrians registered with UNHCR are able to
obtain six-month renewable residency permits on their UNHCR refugee
card.
UNHCR has a well-established refugee program in Egypt that already
offered protection and assistance to some 48,000 asylum-seekers and
refugees from other countries in the region. UNHCR and other
international humanitarian agencies are working to extend their
coverage into new areas in order to reach the growing Syrian population
dispersed throughout Egypt.
Challenges: Despite the warm welcome Egyptians have provided to
Syrian refugees, it will be become more difficult to sustain the level
of assistance as numbers mount. Since the 2011 revolution in Egypt, the
uncertain political and economic situation creates challenges for
Egyptian as well refugees. Although Syrian refugees are keen to work,
Egyptian unemployment rates are high and work permits are difficult to
obtain for refugees and other foreigners. Housing is expensive for
refugees with limited resources. As refugee families' resources
continue to diminish, many will struggle to sustain their current
living arrangements.
Although Egyptian authorities have granted Syrians access to public
health care, the existing system is already overburdened and additional
support is required in areas of primary, maternal, and child health
care as well as for life-saving health interventions. Education is also
a concern. While the Government of Egypt has provided access to public
schools at the primary and secondary levels, enrollment and integration
of Syrian children is complicated. Public schools have limited openings
for additional students, and private schools are too expensive for many
refugee households. Sexual harassment is a concern for school-age girls
who report to UNHCR that they are harassed on the way to school and
inside school buildings.
As the flow of new Syrian refugees continues, the main challenge
for UNHCR and its operational partners will be the provision of regular
services and outreach to Syrians who have dispersed to remote areas of
Egypt outside the scope of existing humanitarian operations.
Strategies and Plans: The aggregate UN appeal for the refugee
emergency in Egypt is $66.7 million. The U.S. Government is providing
$2.1 million to support refugee programs in Egypt, including $1.7
million from PRM. We will look closely at augmenting that amount in the
near future. A strong and sustained humanitarian response will be
essential as the number of Syrian arrivals continues to grow and those
already in Egypt deplete their savings and become less able to support
their families. It will be important to sustain steps already taken to
expedite refugee registration and conduct regular assessments of their
needs so that UNHCR and its operational partners can continue to design
flexible programs responsive to their needs. The Government of Egypt,
UNHCR, other UN agencies, IOM, and NGOs will need to coordinate closely
to ensure that humanitarian programs are as comprehensive and inclusive
as possible.
Prepared Statement of Michel Gabaudan, President, Refugees
International
Mr. Chairman and members of the Helsinki Commission of the United
States Congress, thank you for the invitation to testify today on the
situation of Syrian refugees and the impact on the countries hosting
them. Refugees International (RI) appreciates the Commission's interest
in what is arguably the most important humanitarian and political
crisis of the day. We are pleased to have this opportunity to speak
with you about the larger situation and ways to address it.
Refugees International is a non-profit, non-governmental
organization that advocates for lifesaving assistance and protection
for displaced people and refugees in some of the most difficult parts
of the world. Based here in Washington, we conduct 10 to 15 field
missions a year to places like Colombia, DR Congo, Myanmar, and South
Sudan, on behalf of the most vulnerable communities, particularly those
displaced from their homes and needing lifesaving assistance. Notably,
Refugees International does not accept government or United Nations
funding, which allows our advocacy to be impartial and independent.
Over the course of the past year-and-a-half, RI twice visited each
refugee-hosting country bordering Syria, crossing into northern Syria
during our most recent trip in March. On that same trip, we spent
considerable time in northern Iraq, administered by the Kurdish
Regional Government (KRG), and along the southern border of Turkey.
Since the initial uprising in Syria in March 2011, the number of
displaced Syrians has reached staggering proportions: 1.5 million are
refugees in the region, almost 7 million inside Syria need humanitarian
assistance, and more than 4 million of the latter are internally
displaced. Two significant diplomatic interventions have not resulted
in a peace plan, a cease-fire, or even sustained humanitarian access to
areas where the fiercest fighting is taking place. To date, every
effort to bring the Syrian government together with the opposition for
constructive discussion has been fruitless. And while the world
attempts to help resolve the crisis in Syria, Syrians themselves
continue to face insecurity inside Syria, and countries receiving large
numbers of Syrians fleeing the war are straining under the pressure.
The prospect of spillover violence in these countries is emerging as a
central security concern.
Refugees International has been following the development of the
Syrian crisis since its beginning, and was among the first non-
governmental organizations on the ground in Lebanon at a time when
Syrians began to arrive in that country in large numbers and the UN was
unable to access many communities hosting the refugees. Our earliest
advocacy focused on pushing the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to
expeditiously expand its area of operations and to encourage the U.S.
government and other donors to deepen their engagement with local
government and community leaders to support refugees in need. The
latter recommendation was included in the House Appropriations
Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs report
accompanying the Fiscal Year 2013 spending bill. In that report, the
Committee expressed that it: ``understands that effective expansion of
relief efforts in the region associated with the unrest in Syria will
require increased partnerships with local, nongovernmental
organizations and community-based organization. The Committee
encourages the Department of State to further diversify these
partnerships.''
The number of refugees we saw flowing out of Syria at the time of
that recommendation was modest. Unfortunately, the U.S. agencies
responsible for building effective partnerships at the grassroots level
did not use the time they had to build these relationships. Now with
the pace of displacement increasing considerably, we regret to report
that those agencies are only beginning to adapt their approach to
partnership to effectively support refugees and host communities. Time
has been lost, making it now more urgent that the State Department and
USAID rapidly update their approach to responding to regional
humanitarian crises to include different partners such as local
government and community-based organizations. The United Nations, its
partners, and local organizations in all the refugee receiving
countries--Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey--work diligently
every day to meet the survival needs of the refugees and offer safe
spaces, but the sheer numbers are overwhelming their capacity to
respond adequately. Likewise, inside Syria, restrictions by the Syrian
regime and the general insecurity prevent the UN, its partners, and
local humanitarian actors from reaching most of the people in need.
Understanding that a political solution to the crisis will be slow
in arriving, RI continues to evaluate the humanitarian response region-
wide with the intent of ensuring those who can be reached by
humanitarian assistance receive it in a timely and responsible fashion.
While each country hosting Syrian refugees has challenges unique to its
own social and political situation, there are some commonalities across
the region. First and foremost, as is the case with many humanitarian
responses that involve the international community, funding for the
response has not kept up with demand. Last week the United Nations
released its new requests for funds to help Syrians: $2.9 billion for
refugees, and $1.5 billion for those inside. These are the largest
humanitarian appeals in the UN's history--an indication of the scope of
the crisis. To date, both appeals are less than 30% funded.
In addition to the need for funds, each neighboring country must
make ongoing decisions about whether to keep its borders open. These
decisions are affected by the numbers of refugees arriving, their
relationship with the host community, possible spillover of the
conflict that drove them out, and the host government's ability to
provide support, usually in conjunction with the UN system. In the past
year and-a-half, RI visited Syrian refugees both inside and outside of
camps across the region. We saw concerns as straightforward as
shortages of shelter, and as complex as a lack of services for women
who have survived sexual violence. The world has witnessed an
incredibly generous response by Syria's neighbors regarding open
borders, but all of these countries have repeatedly indicated that
there is a limit to how much more they can provide without significant
assistance from the rest of the world.
While the situation for Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon has
remained quite visible in the media and in policy circles, Turkey and
Iraq have captured less international attention. Jordan and Lebanon
host the largest numbers of Syrians and the ongoing efforts to support
those countries are well-deserved and absolutely necessary. Turkey has
relaxed its initial inclination to keep the international community at
arm's length and requested assistance, and Iraq is facing a very real
crisis in providing for Syrian arrivals. U.S. and the broader
international community's support for Syrian refugees fleeing into
Iraqi Kurdistan has been complicated by the political tension between
Baghdad and Erbil. With more than 95 percent of Syrian refugees in Iraq
residing in the Kurdish region, and the Kurdish Regional Government
(KRG) being the main funder for sustaining refugees even as oil
payments have been cut by Baghdad, it is imperative that the U.S. and
donor counties better coordinate support with the KRG.
Both Turkey and Iraq present unique challenges to the current model
of supporting refugees through the UN and its partner agencies. The
added attention that the Helsinki Commission has been able to bring to
the question of how best to respond to Syrian refugees in different
political contexts is welcomed just one week after the UN released its
largest humanitarian appeal in history.
Turkey
During RI's most recent visit in March, officials of the Turkish
government regularly concluded meetings with the same statement: Turkey
needs help if it is going to maintain and expand its response to the
Syrian refugees. Turkey is not officially listed as an international
donor country providing financial assistance to the Syrian refugee
response, but if all of the benefits and services that Turkey provides
for Syrian were to be monetized, it would immediately rise to the top
of list of worldwide donors. The Turkish government estimates that it
has spent $1 billion on its response to Syrians. This includes
administration and support to 17 government-run camps for Syrian
refugees in Turkey--five of which are very high quality container camps
and the others very good tent camps. There are also new camps and new
expansions to existing camps underway in Turkey. On average, these
camps each cost more than $2 million monthly to operate, or nearly half
a billion dollars a year.
In addition to the camps, which host some 200,000 Syrian refuges,
Turkey also has initiated limited health services and very limited
educational support for some non-camp or urban refugee populations. In
the near-term the government, in collaboration with UNHCR, is expected
to put into operation more than 10 mobile registration units that will
allow greater numbers of non-camp refugees to register for health
services. Notably, the government of Turkey has also been able to
support the provision of aid into Syria through its zero-point
distribution system. Zero-point distribution is the term used to refer
to the process by which Turkish agencies transfer aid at the border to
Syrians who then distribute the food and medical supplies to displaced
people and others in need inside the northern areas of Syria. At the
outset of the crisis, Turkey declined international support believing
that it would be able to provide adequate assistance to people in need
for a short period of time. However, as the conflict dragged on and the
number of refugees grew rapidly, the level of assistance required also
increased. For almost a year now, Turkey's government has requested
additional financial assistance from the international community to
share some of the burden of providing for a large refugee population.
Such support will be crucial to Turkey's ability not only to
maintain the established camps, but also to develop a comprehensive
response to those Syrians not in the camps. While the quality of the
government-run refugee camps is quite high, it stands in stark relief
to the nearly complete lack of services for those who cannot be
accommodated in those camps, and whom Turkey's government has only
recently begun to recognize. The UNHCR is allowed only a very limited
role in Turkey, and NGOs--both local and international--struggle to
register with the government in order to have their programs officially
sanctioned. As a result, the main service for non-camp Syrians in
Turkey at the moment is registration of guest status. Registration with
either a host government or the United Nations is an important
component of refugee protection, but outside of the Turkish camps it is
offered only in a few select urban areas with the largest Syrian
populations, leaving significant numbers of Syrians without even this
most basic form of protection.
Refugees International strongly encourages the U.S. government to
offer direct, bilateral financial support to Turkey equal to the amount
necessary to operate the refugee camps for one month, or roughly $60
million. While this sum is a modest contribution to the Turkish refugee
response, it is a meaningful symbol of solidarity with the Syrian
refugees and the Turkish communities that play host to the victims of
this conflict. While Turkey may not be a ``usual'' recipient of U.S.
economic aid, the unique situation it is in right now merits
reconsideration of direct assistance. A month's worth of operating
expenses for the camps would also allow Turkey to dedicate more of its
own resources to services for Syrians outside of camps, could encourage
Turkey to keep its borders open to those fleeing Syria, and would
acknowledge to the rest of the world that Turkey is doing an excellent
job in responding to the needs of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees.
Supporting Turkey in its work is not simply an expression of good will;
it is a very real way to offer aid to more Syrians seeking refuge.
Besides those in Turkey, Syrians inside Syria will also benefit from
Turkey being able to use more of its resources pushing aid across the
border through zero-point distribution efforts, which it has been
carrying out effectively for some time now. Given the absence of
predictable access inside Syria by the UN and by other donor countries,
we need to take advantage of any entry points into Syria for
humanitarian assistance, even those that are unorthodox.
To further address possibilities for getting aid into Syria, RI
also examined the network of Syrian and Syrian-run groups that are
operating from Turkey near the Syrian border. Some of these groups are
formal NGOs registered in other countries, and some are simply an
individual or collection of people with connections inside Syria and a
lot of courage. Cross-border aid is happening from every neighboring
country of Syria, and Turkey is no exception. Syrian refugees and
expatriates enter Syria daily to deliver food and medical supplies to
local civil committees for distribution to their communities. The same
organizations also provide other types of aid in the service of Syrians
and their future civil society: they bring NGO workers into Turkey to
train them in capacity-building, humanitarian principles, and
documentation; they escort groups of volunteers who do field surgery
inside Syria; they extract the wounded who need urgent care and get
them to the border; and they provide a constant stream of information
back and forth about what is happening on the ground that journalists
and authorities don't see. In speaking with these groups, it became
apparent that as a whole they have extensive access to Syria's interior
that the multilateral agencies and INGOs simply do not have right now.
The INGOs will always be a main responder in humanitarian crises--
they have the experience, the know-how, and the resources to provide an
effective response. They generally work with local partners in-country
and provide them with support and experience. But Bashar al-Assad's
government places restrictions on movement and provision of aid in many
areas of Syria. As a result, local groups with more direct access to
vulnerable populations in non-government controlled areas of Syria are
a means--possibly the only means right now--of providing a larger
humanitarian response inside the country. But they are underfunded,
understaffed, and undertrained in international humanitarian
principles. U.S. government agencies working in the region are aware of
and connected to many of these organizations as part of efforts to
nurture a democratic civil society in the future Syria. However, rather
than waiting for that time, the U.S. should be actively engaging with
the groups that wish to do humanitarian aid now. The U.S. should be
training, equipping and mentoring them so that when the time comes for
them to work with the vulnerable populations in a peaceful Syria, they
have the experience and collaborations that make their work immediately
effective.
Iraq
Refugees International first visited northern Iraq in October 2012.
The number of Syrian refugees had just begun to grow at the rapid pace
we see today--roughly 500 new arrivals every day. The vast majority of
Syrian refugees crossed into Iraqi Kurdistan. A smaller number entered
through the border crossing at al-Qa'im in Anbar province which at the
time was still open on a limited basis. It has since been closed. In
total, roughly 6,000 refugees crossed into Anbar and took up residence
in the modest sized al-Qa'im camp.
At that time, the KRG authorities were doing their best to respond
to the needs of the Syrian refugees. However, as hundreds of new
refugees entered Domiz camp on a daily basis, it was evident that the
existing camp would soon reach its capacity and most new arrivals,
irrespective of their ability to provide for themselves, would be
forced to seek shelter and assistance in Erbil and other cities and
towns throughout the region. From the beginning of the Syrian refugee
crisis, Iraq did not garner the international attention that countries
like Jordan and Lebanon did. The weak levels of financial support
reflect this neglect. The United Nations humanitarian appeal has always
included requests to support its work in Iraq, but donations
specifically for the country have been sparse, and donations for
regional work were not often directed to Iraq. This means that although
the UN is present in Iraq, it has very little funding for its work. Few
international NGOs arrived to support the refugee response in Iraq in
the early stages, and those who did were unable to marshal much of
their own funding.
According to the most current UN funding data, Iraq has received
only $43 million since the beginning of the Syrian crisis began--less
than 15 percent of the recently updated appeal. Only Egypt has fared as
badly as Iraq in garnering financial burden sharing. On RI's first
visit to the KRG, winter was approaching and none of the aid agencies
had resources to prepare for the cold and wet weather that would
arrive. There were shortages of fuel, warm clothing, and medicines to
address cold weather illnesses. Weak international financial support
resulted in a very slow roll out of winterization projects, to the
extent that when RI visited the camp again in April 2013, international
agencies were still attempting to complete projects.
Now, the arrival of summer is bringing new challenges. Camp
residents in particular are worried about clean water, protection from
the heat, and especially the lack of sanitation that will bring new
diseases. Over the past couple of months, cases of hepatitis-A and
diarrhea have increased in the camp, and the continuing flow of new
arrivals has further exacerbated the problem of overcrowding. It
appears refugees in Domiz camp will relive last winter's nightmare of
late seasonal assistance during the scorching summer of northern Iraq
with potentially more disastrous ramifications this time.
Over the past year, Domiz has grown from a somewhat overburdened
camp with insufficient assistance programs in place to a dangerously
overcrowded community with decreasing order and regulation. In April,
camp authorities stopped distributing tents because the camp had no
space and inadequate infrastructure. Nevertheless, Syrians arrived
every day and pitched their own tents wherever they could find space,
or moved in with friends and relatives. A camp originally designed for
10,000 people is now home to more than 35,000, many of whom have no
access to clean water, sanitation services, or waste removal.
Refugees in the main cities of northern Iraq are not faring much
better. Though they officially have the same rights as Iraqis to access
public services such as food assistance, public school enrolment, and
medical care, the reality is that the social safety net is inadequately
funded for Iraqis and leaves citizens and Syrian refugees alike without
assistance. Syrian refugees are generally allowed to work without much
objection, but jobs are difficult to find, just as they are for Iraqis,
and Syrians are paid less for the same work. There is sometimes an
initial food distribution that comes with registration, but no regular
assistance to speak of. Moreover, as the number of Syrians seeking to
register grows, the wait time for formal recognition by UNHCR has
increased--thus prolonging the period of time before newly arrived
refugees are eligible to receive the limited services available.
Most urban Syrian refugee children are not enrolled in school
because elementary education is in Kurdish. There are a few private
Arabic language schools, but they are expensive and not centrally
located. The UNHCR has offered minimal cash assistance in the urban
areas, but the KRG is not equipped to fill in the gap.
The government, the UN, and the NGOs in northern Iraq need support
for summer preparations immediately, and in the urban areas this will
include cash assistance programming to help people pay rent and utility
bills. There are a number of local Iraqi NGOs in the KRG run by people
who are experienced in humanitarian aid provision and standards. But
most of these organizations struggle for funding, even those that have
partnerships with the international NGOS present in northern Iraq.
While the UN recently released ERF funds for NGOs working with Syrian
refugees in Iraq, PRM's request for proposals from INGOs and local NGOs
does not extend to this area of programs. The regional RFP as it
pertains to Iraq is for work with Iraqi IDPs and returnees only, and
this overlooks more than 100,000 people in need of humanitarian
assistance.
A complicating factor in providing adequate assistance to refugees
currently being supported largely by the KRG is the obligation for most
humanitarian funding to be approved by Baghdad. Officials in Baghdad
appear to have taken the position that because the refugees in northern
Iraq are Kurds, they are the sole responsibility of the KRG. While the
KRG does not formally dispute this idea, it does object to not
receiving a budget distribution that accounts for support to an extra
100,000 or more people. It is unlikely at this point that the
government in Baghdad would be willing to provide extra support for
Syrian refugees in the KRG. Thus, innovative thinking on how the
international community and particularly the U.S. can ensure adequate
financial support for the humanitarian response in Iraq is essential to
improving the conditions in which Syrian refugees currently live. As in
Turkey, the good will and generous provision of aid for Syrians by the
regional government is unsustainable. As the number of refugees
continues to grow and threatens to outstrip the resources available to
assist them, there is real concern that relations with the host
communities may become more strained.
Lebanon and Jordan
Lebanon and Jordan have received the largest number of Syrian
refugees in the region: combined, the two countries host almost 800,000
officially registered refugees. To date, Lebanon and Jordan have
received nearly 80 percent (or $652 million) of the multilateral funds
given in support of the Syrian Regional Response Plan. Nevertheless,
the financing shortfall between what Lebanon and Jordan have received
and what humanitarian agencies have estimated as the true need in these
countries is over $1.5 billion, representing 72 percent of the plan's
overall funding gap.
By percentage of population, Lebanon is the country most impacted
by Syrian refugees: roughly 10 percent of the 4.5 million people now
living in Lebanon are Syrian refugees. In a context of the country's
precariously balanced sectarian domestic politics, Lebanon is also
suffering a spillover of tensions from the Syrian conflict. To date,
the national peace has held. However, over the past month, Hezbollah
has assumed both a more assertive and more public role in Syria's
conflict. Tensions in northern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, where the
majority of Syrians reside, are becoming increasingly apparent, and
challenges in providing adequate shelter and health care in particular
for Syrian refugees persist.
Nonetheless, the Lebanese government has kept its border with Syria
open in spite of significant strains on its ability to care for the
expanding Syrian population in addition to its own nationals. As a
result, the refugees are mixed into Lebanese communities and can be
difficult to identify, document, and assist. The refugee response in
Lebanon began as a cautious and geographically limited operation and
grew into a countrywide humanitarian response that is now unique among
Syria's neighbors for not having opened camps for the refugees. In
Jordan, the main refugee camp, Zaatari, has swelled to almost 150,000
residents. After 11 months of operations, the camp continues to suffer
from a lack of coherent administration that can keep up with the huge
number of daily arrivals. Camp security has deteriorated greatly over
the past several months and visits to the camps by international
visitors, which were once routine, are now off limit to many.
The number of Syrian refugees residing outside of camps in
Jordanian cities and towns is nearly double that of those living in
Zaatari. Refugee service providers are hard-pressed to meet the needs
of these non-camp refugees. Two new camps have been established in
response to the constant increase. In March of this year, President
Obama announced a second supplementary aid package of $200 million for
Jordan to help the kingdom cope with the influx of refugees fleeing the
deadly violence in Syria. A year earlier, the U.S. government provided
Jordan $100 million in additional budget support to address the
situation. Services for non-camp refugees in Jordan struggle to keep up
with Syrian refugees' needs, and funding from the U.S. government
specifically for NGOs working with Syrians has been quite limited in
the past two years.
Syria
The U.S. government has been contributing aid to the humanitarian
crisis in Syria through the multilateral system and through some
specific bilateral support, particularly for Jordan. RI appreciates and
supports these efforts, and is pleased that the U.S. is one of the
largest funders of humanitarian aid to the Syrian people at $500
million. However, the size of the UN's most recent humanitarian appeal
for Syria--$5 billion--is an indication of the breadth and depth of the
crisis. Refugees International has been--and will continue to be--both
a critic and supporter of the UNHCR. But on this particular occasion,
we agree with the High Commissioner Antonio Guterres when he says,
``Syria as a civilization is unravelling. The funds we are appealing
for are a matter of survival for suffering Syrians and they are
essential for the neighboring countries hosting refugees.''
Further assistance--including inside of Syria--is possible through
collaboration with the Syrian groups that have wide access to the
interior of the country, and that are eager to partner with the U.S.
government to make this happen. Multilateral funding will always matter
in a humanitarian crisis, but with the restrictions in place for those
agencies inside of Syria, the U.S. must immediately expand the aid that
pushes into Syria. Cross-border aid is flowing into Syria from all the
bordering countries, and in each of those countries there is a network
of Syrian individuals and small organizations creatively and
expeditiously shuttling much needed humanitarian supplies into
communities throughout Syria.
The Office of Transitional Initiatives (OTI) in USAID and Bureau of
Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO) in the Department of State
have been working on the ground in neighboring countries for more than
a year to make contact with groups that seek to participate politically
in the post-Assad governance of Syria. However, USAID's Office of
Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), which is responsible for getting
humanitarian aid into Syria, has been slow to engage with Syrian actors
that want to help deliver humanitarian assistance.
RI strongly encourages OFDA to begin to seek out Syrian
organizations that can deliver effectively assistance to people in need
inside Syria and work hard to partner with these emerging humanitarian
actors to get more aid inside Syria. It is likely that some training
and capacity building will be necessary, and several Syrian
organizations will be better suited to being subcontractors working in
collaboration with larger more established international NGOs.
Nevertheless, it is vital that they become a part of the platform
through which the U.S. and EU deliver assistance.
Beginning now to engage with these dynamic new humanitarian actors
is an important step in meeting the most urgent existing needs.
Building relationships with Syrian humanitarians will also be helpful
for the country's future success. Even after the conflict in Syria
ends, millions of people will need humanitarian assistance for some
time. If there are a number of trained, motivated, and well-funded
organizations that have learned to deliver assistance to the
international standard, these nascent Syrian NGOs will be able support
the longer-term recovery. Gaining experience in aid provision takes
time and hands-on learning, and the sooner U.S. agencies and
international NGOs begin the process of improving the quality of these
NGOs' work, the sooner the U.S. can, through them, offer more to those
who cannot flee.
RI strongly endorses the idea of creating a small program
administered by the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance to engage
Syrian NGOs, build their capacity to deliver humanitarian aid to
international standards, and provide these organizations with small
grants for them to begin to deliver assistance as U.S. implementing
partners.
Likewise, new thinking about the purpose and appropriateness of
bilateral aid is in order. Well-timed and well-defined budget support
to countries hosting Syrian refugees can save lives by allowing host
countries to keep their borders open and provide lifesaving services to
refugees, while encouraging their national populations to be welcoming
and to see the refugees as benefits to society. For Syrian refugees,
this is a particularly good investment as the huge majority of them
continually express the desire to return to Syria as soon as it is
safe. While we wait for this to happen, we can be helping refugees
prepare for the transition to come.
Prepared Statement of Jana Mason, Senior Adviser for Government
Relations, UNHCR Washington Regional Office
Mr. Chairman and members of the Commission, I would like to express
my appreciation for the opportunity to appear before you today to offer
the perspectives and concerns of the UN Refugee Agency regarding the
humanitarian situation of displaced Syrians. From June 2 to June 11,
2013, I traveled throughout Jordan and Lebanon where I witnessed the
staggering human consequences of the Syrian conflict. My testimony
today will focus on some of the protection and assistance challenges
and will also highlight the impact on host communities that are
generously hosting Syrian refugees and yet are reaching a breaking
point.
UNHCR currently has three offices inside Syria and 13 in the four
neighboring countries that have received the majority of Syrian
refugees: Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt and Iraq. We currently have
over 2,000 staff working in the region. We lead and coordinate the
response to the Syrian refugee situation in the host countries, working
closely with host governments and with more than 100 UN and NGO
partners. The two largest of these are the World Food Program, which
supplies food rations and vouchers to the refugees, and UNICEF, which
provides child protection services, education, and water and
sanitation.
Inside Syria, UNHCR has been present since the early 1990s,
initially to support the Iraqi and other refugees that Syria has
generously hosted for many years. Since mid-2011, when the crisis took
a distinctly violent turn and started producing significant internal
displacement, we have also been assisting Syrians uprooted inside the
country with relief items and shelter assistance. We provide help
wherever we are able to access people in need with a minimum guarantee
of security. Unlike in refugee situations, there is no single agency
with a mandate to protect internally displaced persons. Our assistance
to Syrians who have fled inside their own country has therefore been
part of a collective UN and NGO response effort led by the UN Emergency
Relief Coordinator and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA).
UNHCR has seen a staggering increase in the numbers of refugees
crossing into Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, and Egypt since the
beginning of 2013. Civilians are crossing borders in record numbers
because of increased fighting and as control of towns and villages have
changed hands frequently. More and more civilians are crossing borders
after having already been internally displaced; I learned on this trip
that as the violence spreads some Syrian families are forced to
relocate two or three times inside the country before finally crossing
a border. Fleeing to neighboring countries is often a last minute
decision, when lives are imminently at risk. As a consequence, refugees
are fleeing with the bare minimum and have few resources at their
disposal. It's also important to note that three quarters of the
refugees are women and children, and in Jordan alone, nearly one in
five refugees is under the age of four. The children pay the hardest
price of all, with millions of young lives shattered by this conflict,
and the future generation of an entire country marked by violence and
trauma for many years to come. The refugee situation has escalated
rapidly over the past six months, particularly when compared to the
previous 20 months of the conflict. One million of the 1.6 million
Syria refugees across the region today fled the country in the last six
months alone. During the first five months of 2013, an average of 8,000
Syrians crossed into Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt every day.
These numbers are staggering and have put enormous strain on the
humanitarian community.
As of today, Lebanon hosts more than 520,000 Syrian refugees who
are registered or pending registration with UNHCR. This number
represents an 11% increase in Lebanon's population of 4.2 million.
There are no official refugee camps in Lebanon, although some of the
refugees live in informal camp-like settlements. Most are in urban
areas in a wide arrange of accommodation--often barely livable.
Neighboring Jordan is currently home to more than 475,000 Syrian
refugees registered or pending registration. About 120,000 of these
individuals live in Za'atri refugee camp, which sprang up from the
desert and now comprises Jordan's fifth largest city. Turkey hosts more
than 380,000 Syrians refugees, most of them in 18 camps along the
border that are run by the Turkish government. Iraq is home to nearly
160,000 Syrian refugees, of which 40,000 are housed in the overcrowded
Domiz camp in the Kurdistan Region; nearly half the families there
share tents due to lack of land. In Egypt, nearly 80,000 Syrian
refugees are in urban areas. As dramatic as these numbers are, they
likely undercount the actual situation. Many Syrians do not come
forward for registration because they fear reprisals back home, or in
some cases because they do not yet need assistance. Potentially
hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees throughout the region are not
counted in official statistics.
The December 2012 Regional Response Plan (RRP) issued by UNHCR and
our partners was based on projections of 1.1 million Syrians through
June of this year. That figure was reached in March and by June had
been far exceeded; yet, it was the funding appeal on which
contributions by donor governments were based. At the end of last week,
an updated RRP was issued, based on an anticipated 3.45 million Syrian
refugees by the end of this year. This updated regional response plan
for Syrian refugees totals $2.9 billion. The governments of Lebanon and
Jordan are also appealing for funds, asking for $449 million and $380
million, respectively. The humanitarian appeal for inside Syria, which
was also released last week and is known as the SHARP, is for $1.4
billion. This adds up to more than $5 billion, including the appeals by
host governments, and represents the largest humanitarian appeal in
history. With more than $1 billion received so far in 2013, a further
$4 billion is needed to meet the basic protection and assistance needs
of Syrian refugees and internally displaced Syrians for the remainder
of this year.
Statistics and data help us understand the scope of the refugee
crisis, but cannot begin to capture the sense among refugees and host
communities that they are being overwhelmed by an increasingly bloody
conflict with no end in sight.
Key Messages from UNHCR
1. Open borders. UNHCR is calling upon all governments in the
region to keep their borders open--or in some cases to fully re-open
borders to provide access to their territory for all those in need of
international assistance. We are particularly grateful for the
commitment offered by neighboring governments to protect Syrian
refugees. By taking in thousands of new refugees every day, the
countries on the front line of this crisis are saving lives and
supporting families and communities. Very importantly, they're also
helping Syrians prepare for an eventual return to their homeland, which
all of the Syrians I met are hoping for.
2. Need for safe shelter. The mass influx of refugees has
overwhelmed camps across the region, leading to overcrowding and
numerous concerns. As summer approaches, communicable and waterborne
diseases become a major concern. However, while the media has largely
focused on refugees in camps, the vast majority, 77% of Syrian
refugees, live in urban settings where they face particular challenges.
High rental costs (often for substandard or even unlivable units), lack
of job opportunities, and rapidly dwindling resources are making life
increasingly difficult for urban refugees throughout the region, often
forcing families to turn to negative coping mechanisms such as child
labor, early marriage, and other forms of exploitation to make ends
meet. Financial assistance has been consistently flagged as a critical
need and top priority for non-camp refugees to meet the growing cost of
living, ensure protection and prevent families from slipping into
destitution.
3. Regional stability and the need to support host countries
financially and politically. Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt
have welcomed over 1.6 million refugees across their borders since the
beginning of the conflict, but ever growing numbers are putting
increased stress on already strained public resources, as well as on
host families. If additional support is not forthcoming, acceptance by
host communities towards refugees may soon diminish, threatening to
further destabilize this already fragile region. I heard about this
over and over during my trip. I was told that host communities were
initially welcoming to the refugees, with many landlords deferring rent
and neighbors providing assistance. Recently, however, the tide has
clearly turned and tensions with host communities are growing--leading
to the threat of violence and instability.
Jordan
The majority of 475,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan live in urban
areas throughout the country, with 120,000 currently residing in
Za'atri camp near the northern city of Mafraq. The rising numbers have
strained host communities' ability to absorb newcomers. As a result,
the Government of Jordan requires that Syrians entering the country
receive assistance in camps. Despite this directive, many refugees
continue to seek safety among the Jordanian population.
UNHCR and partner organizations are working around the clock to
provide shelter and life-saving assistance in camps (Za'atri and two
smaller camps originally used as transit facilities). This assistance
is key not only to respond to the overall refugee influx but also to
maintain protection space for Syrians within Jordan itself. UNHCR is
currently working with the Government and partner agencies to establish
a second major camp, Azraq, also in northern Jordan, which is intended
to house up to 130,000 refugees. The opening date is dependent on
completion of infrastructure, including water, sanitation and hygiene
facilities.
In addition to camp-based activities, support to refugees in urban
communities and to those communities themselves is critical. Jordan
currently faces significant challenges in providing for the needs of
its own population. For example, Jordan is the world's fourth most
water-insecure country. Yet, Za'atri camp alone requires 925,000
gallons of water every day. Syrians have access to food, fuel, health
and education services that are subsidized by the Jordanian government,
incurring a significant cost to the national budget. Jordan is also
facing a very difficult economic situation, aggravated by dwindling
revenues from trade, tourism and foreign investment due to the Syria
crisis. The country has also had to agree to a tight adjustment policy
with the International Monetary Fund, including the removal of
government subsidies, which in the past have resulted in violent street
protests. Its limited energy and water resources, social service
infrastructure and public security forces are dramatically
overstretched. Like Lebanon, Jordan also needs massive support to deal
with the humanitarian tragedy caused by the conflict next door.
Bolstering infrastructure and enhancing the living standards for all
host community residents will benefit not only Syrian refugees but the
region as a whole. Our 2013 priorities in Jordan include registration
and documentation of all new arriving refugees; ensuring life-saving
assistance such as establishing camp infrastructure, providing non-food
items to those in need, and access to health care, food assistance, and
clean water. Other protection activities such as preventing and
responding to sexual and gender based violence are also critical.
Education is another key priority because it provides children with
a sense of stability and normalcy, in addition to a solid academic
foundation for the future. Given that 54% of the Syrian refugee
population in Jordan is under the age of 18, demands on the public and
camp educational systems are enormous. Approximately 10,000 children
are currently registered for formal education at Za'atri, although
those numbers far exceed daily attendance. Among urban refugees, over
32,000 children receive formal education in Jordanian public schools.
Others, however, do not attend because of challenges that include lack
of transportation and the fact that children often work to provide
income for their families.
Three significant risks and challenges face the refugee population
in Jordan over the next six months. First, additional large-scale
population movement is likely, either into or out of Syria, with its
accompanying logistical complexities. Second, growing intolerance
toward Syrian refugees in Jordanian society threatens to provoke
backlash, such as restriction of services, sealed borders, or even
community violence. One refugee family I met said they rarely venture
outside their rented apartment due to the growing inhospitality. To
mitigate this troubling sentiment, support to host communities has been
increased and is a key component of the newest Regional Response Plan.
UNHCR has constructed and is in the final stages of equipping a new
registration site for urban refugees. Finally, refugees living in
overcrowded camp conditions are especially vulnerable to disease
outbreak along with other concerns. In Za'atri, for example, the harsh
conditions and limited services have created serious tensions among the
refugees themselves and have led to significant mental health
conditions in both adults and children.
UNHCR is grateful for Jordan's unwavering support for refugees
throughout the past decades, during which it has offered a home to
Palestinian, Iraqi, and now Syrian refugees. It is vital that this
generous policy of keeping borders open is supported by the
international community. Jordan is clearly feeling the impact of the
Syrian war and, without adequate assistance, may no longer be able to
provide a safety valve for Syrians fleeing for their lives.
Lebanon
As the Commission is aware, the political and security situation in
Lebanon is extremely precarious. There are reports of more spillover
incidents along the border, with rockets fired from Syria continuing to
strike Bekaa and the North, as well as prolonged unrest in Tripoli. The
situation is exacerbated by Hezbollah engagement inside Syria. We have
also begun to hear troubling reports of harassment against refugees and
threats made against aid workers. On my recent trip, the heightened
security concerns in the North were particularly palpable.
Despite this situation, Lebanon hosts well over half a million
Syrian refugees--the highest number in the region. This is in addition
to the half a million Syrians residing in Lebanon before the crisis.
Given Lebanon's small size and weak government, the proportional impact
is huge. Current end of year projections put the number of Syrian
refugees in Lebanon at over one million, which constitute 25% of the
country's population.
The refugee influx has put immense pressure on the small country's
limited resources and compounded the current social and economic
challenges. As in Jordan, host communities are increasingly
apprehensive about the ability to absorb more refugees; however, this
phenomenon is even more dangerous in Lebanon given the complex
sectarian divisions. For example, on my recent visit to Lebanon we
learned that the funerals of Hezbollah fighters killed in Syria are
occasions for shots to be fired over Syrian refugee settlements. UNHCR
and its partners are actively working inside Lebanon to address and
mitigate these growing concerns, but the ability of humanitarian
agencies to achieve access in this area is clearly limited.
UNHCR is registering 2,500 people a day in Lebanon and, as is the
case elsewhere, with the assistance of partners, also provides
emergency and basic assistance to those waiting to register. Despite
the overwhelming volume of arrivals, the Lebanese government has not
faltered in its commitment to keep its borders open to Syrian refugees.
It is therefore vital that Lebanon receives international support to
continue this generous policy.
Because there are no formal camps in Lebanon, the Syrian refugees
spread over Lebanon live in a wide range of shelters, many of which I
saw on my trip. Some refugees, as in Jordan, are living with relatives,
while others rent apartments at prices that are increasingly on the
rise. Others reside in unfinished buildings, which, interestingly, are
seemingly everywhere in Lebanon but are nonetheless owned and require
rent payments. UNHCR and our partners often provide ``sealing off
kits'' to make the buildings more inhabitable. In other cases, UNHCR
and our partners sign contracts with host families for the
rehabilitation of their houses in return for hosting refugees.
Approximately 2,000 refugees currently benefit from these contracts,
which also assist the local community. Some refugees, including those
deemed to be particularly vulnerable, are provided with what we and our
partners call ``shelter boxes,'' which are essentially one-room wooden
buildings. Increasingly, however, refugees are residing in ``collective
centers'' in buildings such as unused schools, while others have
established what is referred to as ``tented settlements''--in essence
shanty towns comprised of wood or tin or any materials the refugees can
purchase or scrounge. There are currently about 250 tented settlements
in Lebanon, some of which existed prior to the crisis and were
inhabited by Syrian migrant workers that have been joined by the new
influx. These settlements are among the most difficult and depressing.
UNCHR is trying its best to improve the standard of living in these
locations, although as summer sets in the incidence of water related
diseases becomes a pressing concern.
While visiting with Syrian refugees in Lebanon, I often heard
concerns about their children's education. Although 100,000 of the
refugees are children of primary school age, only 30,000 are enrolled
in Lebanese public schools. Others do not attend because of
transportation problems or because the curriculum is difficult, as it
is taught in English and French, whereas Syrian schools are only taught
in Arabic. In some cases, Syrian families do not wish to send their
kids to school because the Lebanese classes are co-ed. Other children
are simply too traumatized to leave their parents' side to attend
school. Whatever the reason, many school-aged children have now been
out of school for over two years, with obvious implications for these
kids and for the future of Syria.
When children do attend school, they often require support, such as
remedial classes to help them adapt and continue attending school. I
visited a center that provided such services, along with fun activities
and nourishing snacks to supplement what is often an insufficient diet.
Most importantly, however, these programs provide a safe place and help
foster a sense of normalcy. Many more such programs are needed.
Unfortunately, child labor is on the rise as families struggle to
pay rent and manage the rising cost of living. In a recent week,
agencies identified 15 cases of boys between the ages of 12 and 15 who
are working up to 11 hours a day, seven days a week. Most of these
children--all of whom attended school back in Syria--are working as
cleaners in restaurants and receive substandard monthly wages. Their
families reported that the income they generate helps them cover the
families' monthly expenses. The families were referred for rent support
and the parents counseled on the need to enroll their children in
schools or remedial classes. Funding for education remains limited,
putting on hold programs to help families get their children back to
school, increase psycho-social support for traumatized children, and
put in place outreach plans to identify at-risk children.
Turkey
In Turkey, UNHCR is working closely with the Turkish Government to
assist and protect Syrian refugees. Unlike in the other host countries,
however, the government in Turkey has taken the lead on the refugee
response and runs 18 camps where refugees can access food, medical
attention, education and vocational training, among other services.
Recognizing that about half of the 380,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey
live outside of camps, and that the ever-increasing numbers have
overwhelmed host community resources, the Turkish government and UNHCR
are putting more emphasis on reaching and supporting urban refugees. At
planned coordination centers, UNHCR will be able to register and
provide documentation to more refugees who have settled throughout the
country. The centers will also provide protection counseling and
support, including for children.
It is worth noting that Turkey, more than other country in the
region, has welcomed non-Syrian refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria
as well. These non-Syrian refugees include Iraqis and Palestinians who
had sought refuge in Syria over the past decade. It is critical that
Turkey be encouraged and supported to maintain its commitment to open
borders to support the seemingly endless flow of refugees seeking
safety and protection. A shortage of space in the camps continues to be
a major challenge for the authorities, with almost all of the 18 camps
hosting more than their capacity, and continued pressure to take in new
arrivals. Local authorities underline the fact that because of space
constraints in the camps, the admission of new arrivals from the border
is based, in part, on the number of spaces available. The Turkish
government reports that it continues to provide humanitarian assistance
to those waiting across the borders.
Turkey has assumed the bulk of responsibility for assisting and
protecting the refugee and has spent significant funds in doing so.
International support is necessary for this to remain sustainable.
Iraq
The vast majority of the 159,000 Syrian refugees in Iraq reside in
the Dohuk, Erbil, and Sulaymaniyah governates in the Kurdistan Region
of northern Iraq. An estimated total of 350,000 could cross the border
before the end of the year. The majority of refugees enter Iraq through
the Kurdistan Region, with 40% of them seeking shelter in two camps
while the remainder lives in towns and villages, often in substandard
housing. UNHCR's and its partners' main activities in Iraq focus on
registering and protecting refugees, advocating for open borders,
distributing life-saving items, providing essential services and
counseling, as well as preventing and responding to sexual gender based
violence.
UNHCR continues to urge the Iraqi government to ensure that all
borders remain open for Syrian civilians who need to flee the country.
Since October 2012, the border at Al Qa'im in Anbar Governate has been
closed to all but a few individuals allowed to cross for emergency
medical care or family reunification. In addition, the closure of the
border between the Kurdistan region and Syria since May 19 of this
year, in both directions, has prevented refugees from crossing into
Iraq.
The two Syrian refugee camps in Iraq are established in Al Qaim and
Domiz. Domiz hosts over 40,000 refugees and is critically overcrowded,
with some 3,500 families obliged to share tents with other families
because there is no space to construct new tents. In some cases, more
than 15 refugees are living in tents designed for 5 people. Congestion
and warmer temperatures are increasing the risks of disease and
tensions between camp residents. The number of children under five
years of age suffering from diarrhea has doubled since February. UNHCR
continues to appeal for new land for additional camps.
Urban refugees in Iraq are experiencing increasing poverty due to
long periods of unemployment and lack of access to services. Tensions
are rising within the refugee community as a result of the lack of
freedom of movement, particularly for urban refugees who have no
documentation. The soaring summer temperatures also pose challenges for
urban refugees, many of whom cannot afford rising electricity expenses.
Some urban refugees have expressed general fear of becoming victims of
the unstable security situation in their host cities.
Some refugees living in Al Qa'im refugee camp have begun returning
to Syria--a result of both push and pull factors including frustration
over living conditions, limited freedom of movement, and no access to
the labor market or other sources of income.
Egypt
Approximately 80,000 Syrian refugees have sought shelter in Egypt
since the beginning of the conflict. The majority come from Homs or
Aleppo, drawn to Egypt through family or community ties. It is likely
that number of refugees will significantly increase by year's end, in
part because some refugees currently in Lebanon or Jordan perceive
better living conditions and economic opportunities in Egypt. Because
there are no camps in Egypt, the refugees have found housing in Cairo
neighborhoods and other urban areas. UNHCR operates a registration
center in Cairo and mobile centers in Alexandria and Damietta that
provide protection services for refugees throughout the country. The
potential for secondary movement to Egypt from Lebanon and Jordan is
considered significant as refugees seek countries that are more
affordable for them to live with their families.
The conflict in Syria has placed an unbearable strain on the
population of Syria. Over 1.6 million Syrian refugees are now hosted
across five countries. By the end of the year it is estimated that half
of the population of Syria will be in need of aid. This includes an
anticipated 3.45 million Syrian refugees and 6.8 million Syrians inside
the country, many of whom will be displaced from their homes.
Neighboring governments and their populations have been extremely
generous in welcoming and assisting the refugees. Yet, the overwhelming
message from my recent trip is that this welcome is now under severe
strain as the Syrian conflict continues, the refugees keep arriving,
and resources are increasingly stretched. If our goal is to encourage
the host countries to keep their borders open and continue allowing
refugees to access basic services, then we as an international
community must do more to assist these governments and their local
communities. While we must certainly be smart in how resources are used
and prioritized, the reality is that significant additional resources
will be needed for this year and likely beyond. New donors, including
the private sector, must be mobilized, and development agencies must
work hand-in-hand with the humanitarian organizations. The experiences
of the refugees in the neighboring countries may well determine what a
future Syria looks like, and the welfare of the host countries will
determine the future stability and prosperity of the entire region.
Prepared Statement of Yassar Bittar, Government Relations and Advocacy
Associate, Coalition for a Democratic Syria
Chairman Cardin and Members of the Commission, thank you for
inviting me to testify on behalf of the Coalition for a Democratic
Syria's work on Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons.
What began in March 2011 as a peaceful revolution in Syria, with
hundreds of thousands taking to the streets calling for freedom and
democracy in the face of bullets and tanks, has evolved into what
President of Oxfam America, Ray Offenheiser describes as a humanitarian
catastrophe of ``Darfur-level insanity . . . if not worse.''
Furthermore, just last week, the UN made yet another aid appeal of $5
billion, it's largest ever, maintaining that nearly half of the
country's population will need aid.
My comments today will focus on the Coalition's work for the 1.6
million Syrian refugees and 4.25 million IDPs, many of whom have been
displaced multiple times. I will then relay observations from my recent
trips into Syria, during which I took a closer look into the depth and
complexity of the humanitarian crisis on the ground.
CDS represents the Syrian American community advocacy in support of
the Syrian revolution. Our generous constituency throughout the country
has been the driving force in our work for refugees and IDPs.
According to data compiled by the American Relief Coalition for
Syria, the Syrian American community contributed $45 million in
humanitarian aid in 2012; this number is projected to double in 2013.
The networks of these organizations are able to reach areas under
extremely difficult circumstances, at times when access by the UN is
very limited or altogether lacking.
The international community's efforts in addressing the
humanitarian crisis in Syria have somewhat improved in recent months,
through the introduction of cross-line and cross-border aid deliveries
by international NGO's albeit on a scale that does not measure up to
the massive needs. I saw small examples firsthand in the IDP camps
inside Syria. During my first trip, I saw very little presence of UN
agency work; rather the tents were donated by non-profit organizations
willing to cross the border. While on the border, two tents caught fire
as families used candles to keep warm, killing 7 children; these
children survived the landing of a mortar shell in their kitchen only
to be killed by their supposed source of refuge. During my second trip,
two months later, several UNHCR tents were set up throughout these
camps as the number of IDPs at the border approximately doubled to
reach 60,000 people.
Unfortunately, other needs such as food and sanitation are in
desperate condition. Refugees are forced to purchase their own food
from local villages as their daily allocation of one loaf of bread, a
tub of butter and jam, and one water bottle is often not sufficient. My
experience as I traveled further into Syria was even more
heartbreaking. As I traveled two hours into the country, I saw a
physically beautiful Syria as a backdrop to the reality that the Assad
regime has forced upon the people. We drove by homes that have been
brought to the ground, places of worship that were destroyed and
buildings that had been leveled. I saw families living in remnants of
ancient buildings, and structures that once housed livestock.
After arriving at the city of Kafrenbal, I made my way to the
statistics bureau of the local civilian council, a body formed by
activists to meet the needs of the population in the absence of
government services. As I was visiting the school that housed displaced
children, an attack helicopter flew over our heads, and the children
reassured me, saying, ``If we are meant to die, it is God's will. Don't
be scared.'' According to the head of the humanitarian bureau of the
local council, the aid that we delivered had been the first delivery in
at least one month; he delivered food baskets to women who accepted
them with tears streaming down their faces. That night, we faced six
hours of non-stop shelling by regime forces; the following day, we
escaped to Turkey.
On the Turkish side of the border, we stayed in the border town of
Rehanlye, whose population has doubled since the beginning of the
crisis, to reach 80,000 people. According to USAID, Turkey is home to
approximately 351,000 registered Syrian refugees; of them, 100,000
Syrians reside in non-camp settings. The total amount of aid spent in
Turkey has reached $1.5 billion with the Turkish government providing
over $600 million.
Although I was not given access to the Turkish refugee camps, I
visited several Syrian families living amongst the urban population. I
saw very difficult living conditions for families paying up to 700
Turkish pounds in rent; a family of 6 was living in a shed without
running water or electricity. Another family of 7 was living on the
rooftop of a building with a makeshift roof for coverage.
The number of refugees and IDPs is at a scale in which, according
to assessments from the ground, there is little room for error on
behalf of the international community. These numbers will only increase
as the situation on the ground is deteriorating by the day. Just last
week, in the city of Qusayr, thousands of civilians were forced to flee
to neighboring villages as Assad forces, backed by Iranian and
Hezbollah militias, placed a vicious siege on the city of 25,000
people.
Although positive steps in aid delivery have been made, a
disconnect remains in ensuring proper and efficient aid delivery on
behalf of the international community. We believe it is important to
partner with the Assistance Coordination Unit of the internationally
recognized Syrian Coalition (ACU), the provincial councils in the
liberated areas, as well as the Syrian NGOs that have proven to deliver
to disaster stricken areas.
More importantly, the U.S. has to demonstrate strong resolve and
serious commitment to helping solve the conflict in Syria--the root
cause of the humanitarian disaster. Absence of U.S.-led international
action has permitted the crisis to fester and reach its current tragic
proportions, and continued inaction will only exacerbate it. Without
addressing the root cause of the problem, the illegitimate Assad
regime, the staggering numbers of IDPs and relentless exodus of
refugees will continue to overwhelm the humanitarian response and
destabilize OSCE member Turkey, OSCE partner Jordan, and all of Syria's
neighbors.
Thank you very much.
[all]
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