Adina Mutar Without an end to the Syrian war soon, the demographic map of the Middle East could permanently change. In tiny Lebanon, 1 in 6 people is a Syrian refugee. In Jordan, about a tenth of the population is now Syrian, and one refugee camp is so big (160,000 people) that it could be the country’s fourth largest city. Ten years ago, Syria was home to 100,000 refugees from the Iraq war. Now Iraq has more than 100,000 refugees from Syria. And looking ahead, the UN expects the number of those displaced within Syria or forced to flee to double by the end of this year. The humanitarian crisis alone is stunning, especially when so many children have been traumatized by violence and could miss out on vital schooling. Donor nations can’t keep up with the necessary funding (only a third of requests have been filled). And a large portion of the refugees are not in camps run by international aid groups. Yet equally worthy of global concern is the potential for trouble within refugee camps or with local populations. Syrian forces might also strike at refugee camps supplying fighters.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Jul 2013 12:53:43 +0000
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