The humanitarian ceasefire in parts of Homs, Syria, in February 2014 allowed for the evacuation of a long-besieged civilian population that had been increasingly without access to food, medical care and supplies since late 2013. While women, children and older…
In 2013, HelpAge International and Handicap International undertook a study in Jordan and Lebanon designed to provide robust evidence and data of the numbers and needs of older, disabled and injured refugees and refugees affected by chronic diseases, and to…
Over 225,000 refugees have taken refuge in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI); this represents 97% of all Syrian refugees in Iraq, as central Iraq has denied entry to Syrian refugees. Over 90% of Syrian refugees in KRI are Syrian…
Some 270,000 – over half – of Syria’s Palestinian population have been displaced either internally or outside the country. Although the conflict has affected all people from Syria regardless of their religion or ethnicity, the dire consequences of the Syrian…
The men, women and children fleeing Syria have commonly been subjected to and/or witnessed torture, kidnappings and massacres. They have been victimised by rape and other forms of sexual violence. Their homes and neighbourhoods have been destroyed. They have been…
Of the 9.5 million people forced to flee because of conflict in Syria to date, more than two-thirds – a staggering 6.45 million people – are displaced inside the country.[1] Indeed, Syria now is the country with the most IDPs…
A longstanding concern in Syria is the scarcity of international NGOs physically present inside the country. In part because of this, a significant amount of the humanitarian response to the Syrian conflict has been spearheaded by local organisations and networks…
International organisations, NGOs and even researchers tend to characterise all Syrians who are now found in the neighbouring countries as ‘refugees’. While this may reflect the administrative category of those registered with UNHCR, it is not a good reflection of…
Two problems have beset the response to the situation of Lebanese host communities with regard to the Syrian refugee presence. The first is the tension over short-term versus long-term strategies towards the displacement, with the former being emergency responses largely…
There is a significant community of highly educated, middle-class and generally left-leaning Syrian refugees living in Lebanon who are strongly committed to assisting needier refugees and to playing a role in rebuilding Syria, yet whose energies could be harnessed to…