Syria: Once A Shelter For Refugees, Now A Refugee-Producing Country

From Ismail Amsyar Mohd Said KUWAIT CITY, Jan 28 (Bernama) -- The bloody political crisis continues to take its toll on Syrians with more of the country's citizens being displaced and ending up as refugees in neighbouring countries. It is ironic that Syria was once the world's second largest refugee-hosting country, as it hosted the Palestinian refugees. Yet now it is the fastest refugee-producing country, causing economic instability to the hosting communities in the region. After nearly three years of civil war leaving more than 100,000 people dead and much of the country ruined, there is still no signs of the crisis ending. United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in his opening speech at the second international pledging conference held here recently said the ongoing conflict in Syria has now become a regional crisis. "Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt are now the home to more than three million Syrians who have fled their homeland", he noted. Saying that more than 80 per cent of Palestinian refugees inside Syria were in need of humanitarian aid, Ban stressed that he is also concerned over reports of starvation. He said the refugee crisis has caused great hardships, and it is directly linked to increasing instability and conflict in the region as seen in car bomb incidents and sectarian violence in Iraq and Lebanon. The instability is undermining the development of surrounding economies. "We must do more to support host countries", said Ban, adding that no country, and no people, should face hardships or calamity because they had been helping Syrians in need. ISLAM IN THE PROTECTION OF REFUGEES UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Antonio Guterres in his speech at the conference commended the teachings of Islam with regards to the refugees' protection. Addressing delegations from 62 countries and more than 29 regional organisations, he said generosity and readiness of the neighbouring Muslim countries to shelter refugees from Syria is deeply rooted in Islamic teachings and tradition. "In fact, the most beautiful sentence I have ever read on refugee protection is not from the 1951 Refugee Convention, but from Surah At-Taubah, verse six. The verse reads: "If one amongst the non-believers asks thee for asylum, grant it to him, so that he may hear the word of Allah and then escort him to where he can be secure". "This is a remarkable example of religious tolerance and commitment to refugee protection in Islam", noted the former Portuguese prime minister. He said that the generosity of Syria's neighbours has to be matched by massive international support, in the true spirit of effective burden-sharing, which is essential in assuring asylum for people fleeing the conflict. "Countries in the region need strong financial assistance, but they also need others to help carry the burden of actually taking in and protecting refugees", he said, calling on all countries to keep their borders open for the refugees. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SITUATION OF THE HOSTING COUNTRIES The UNHCR High Commissioner while explaining the importance of assisting refugees, said that the host countries have been receiving an unrelenting stream of fleeing Syrians and have provided them protection at enormous cost to themselves. "The pressure is felt heavily in all areas of daily life, as budget deficits are increasing; growth suffers; and jobs, salaries and prices are affected across the region, leaving local families struggling to make ends meet", he said. According to Guterres, the presence of over 860,000 registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon is equivalent to 66 million refugees arriving suddenly in the United States, 17 million in Germany and over 280 million in China. "As a result of the refugee influx, Lebanon's population has already grown to the level that was expected to reach only in 2050. By the end of this year, the World Bank estimates that unemployment in Lebanon may double, and an additional 170,000 Lebanese risk being pushed into poverty", he explained. A joint World Bank-United Nations study estimated that the conflict has cut gross domestic product (GDP) in Lebanon by nearly three per cent annually, leading to a total loss of up to US$7.5 billion (about RM25.1 billion). For Jordan, a resource-poor country, Guterres said that hundreds of millions of dollars of additional subsidies were being paid by the government to ensure refugees have access to water, bread, gas and electricity at the same prices as Jordanians, estimating the cost of hosting them at some US$1.7 billion (about RM5.7 billion) so far. He further added that Turkey has spent US$2.5 billion (about RM8.4 billion) on assisting Syrian refugees since the beginning of the crisis, which was mostly drawn from its own budget. Meanwhile, in northern Iraq, the population of Dohuk governorate has increased by over 10 percent because of the refugee influx. Furthermore, according to UNHCR's Regional Response Plan 5 (RRP5) Preliminary Report for the period of January to December 2013, the total registered Syrian refugees in Egypt have surpassed the initial projection of 100,000 refugees when UNHCR registered 130,000 refugees in November. With no camps, Syrian refugees are currently living in three main urban areas in Egypt, including Greater Cairo, Alexandria, and Damietta, as well as smaller urban areas throughout the country, the report added. WHAT WILL THE FUTURE HOLD FOR SYRIAN REFUGEES? According to Guterres, the UNHCR is expecting the number of refugees in the region surrounding Syria to rise as high as 4.1 million by the end of 2014, based on last year’s arrival trends. "Their needs, as well as those of local people sheltering them in neighbouring countries, are enormous. "As the conflict rages on and neighbouring countries are stretched beyond capacity, I hope more countries will provide Syrian refugees with additional forms of protection", he added. The Second International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria held here on Jan 15 aimed to raise US$6.5 billion (about RM21.7 billion) for some 11.6 million displaced Syrians facing extreme conditions inside the country and in neighbouring nations. The one-day conference opened by Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah and chaired by United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, however, only managed to raise US$2.4 billion (about RM8.03 billion). --BERNAMA