Syria: A fractured state

Venture into the unfamiliar

 

Displaced Syrians and Refugees

 

How much worse can things get in Syria, you ask? A lot worse in my book. Syria’s civil war, the emergence of jihadist organizations such as the al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State, the rise of the Kurds, and the interventions of the US, Turkey, Russia, Iran, and Israel have caused the displacement of millions of Syrians and millions of Syrian refugees.

 

I hesitated to include this matter in this report. I admit I’m “tired, Betty, mighty tired.” But I feel obliged to broach the subject at least and make you aware of the situation, which you can add to all the other Syrian “situations.”

 

There are plenty of numbers thrown around regarding this subject. The UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) tracks this problem, though I often wonder whether its people inflate the numbers to attract attention. That said, I will use its numbers anyway. This is its job.

 

The UNHCR reminds us that Syria is in its 14th year of internal warfare. As a result, it projects that there will be 7.2 million internally displaced people (IDP) and 6.2 million refugees hosted in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. That totals 13.4 million from a population of roughly 25 million, nearly half. And then there are so many more suffering from deepening poverty.

 

There has been a tendency to argue that Syria’s new leadership, provided by the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Syrian terrorist outfit, marks a positive turning point in Syria. It has designated a fellow to be its foreign minister, and he is attending an international conference hosted by France to discuss Syria’s political transition, humanitarian needs, and rebuilding requirements. I’m a pessimist.

 

Some suggest that displaced Syrians are returning to their homeland from other countries, and others displaced within the country are going back to their homes. Estimates are that over 300,000 Syrians have returned from Lebanon next door. Others say Lebanon is forcing out many or most of them.

 

Jordan hosts the Zaatari Refugee Camp, about seven miles south of the Syrian border. It is “the largest Syrian refugee camp in the world, " housing about 80,000 people. The camp has existed for about 12 years and is now an informal city. Zaatari has 32 schools, eight medical clinics, small businesses, and a solar power plant. In 2013, it housed more than 200,000 people.

 

As an American, I find these kinds of numbers hard to fathom.

 

Most of Syria’s refugee camps are in western Syria. I do not see much relief from the problems posed by these numbers. The UNHCR says, “Syrian refugees represent the refugee population with the highest global resettlement needs.”

 

If you are wondering what can be done, I would say that the NGOs ask you to donate money. There are many such organizations, and if you are, like me, new to the Syrian problem, it would be hard to pick one out. My Google search yielded CARE, Doctors Without Borders, World Vision, World Food Program, and Oxfam on page one! Go to the follow-on pages in the search, and you will see a tidal wave of more NGOs.

 

The US has, for some time, provided humanitarian help to Syria. How much of that reached the people is anyone’s guess. 

 

The realities are that at present, with the closeout of 2024, Syria remains in great turmoil: conflict, political instability, economic turmoil, and now theoretically ruled by an international terrorist organization, HTS, and bereft of any credible diplomacy.

 

NBC News reported in early February that “the Defense Department is developing plans to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria,” preparing plans for a full withdrawal in 30, 60, or 90 days. 

 

NBC quoted President Trump saying, “Syria is its own mess. They got enough messes over there. They don’t need us involved in everyone.” 

 

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