APPROACHES AND METHODS OF PROVIDING SUPPORT FOR WAR VICTIMS IN SYRIA

NAME: BADEKALE ADEFEMI MATRIC NO: 61089 DEPT.: INSTITUTE FOR PEACE AND STRATEGIC STUDIES COURSE: HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION (HRS 701) TOPIC: APPROACHES AND METHODS OF PROVIDING SUPPORT FOR WAR VICTIMS IN SYRIA YEAR: 2016 / 2017 LECTURER: DR. R. O. OLANIYI I INTRODUCTION Syria officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia. De jure Syrian territory borders Lebanon and the Mediterranean sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest, A country with about 18 million population estimated before the war in 2011, is of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups,including SyrianArabs, Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds, Circassians, Mandeans and Turks. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, and Yazidis. Sunni Arabs make up the largest population group in Syria. In English, the name "Syria" was formerly synonymous with the Levant (known in Arabic as al-Sham), while the modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the Eblan civilization of the 3rd millennium BC. Its capital Damascus is among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. In the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The modern Syrian state was established after the end of centuries of Ottoman control in World War I as a French mandate, and represented the largest Arab state to emerge from the formerly Ottoman-ruled Arab Levant. It gained independence as a parliamentary republic on 24 October 1945 when Syria became a founding member of the United Nations, an act which legally ended the former French Mandate – although French troops did not leave the country until April 1946. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a large number of military coups and coup attempts shook the country in the period 1949–71. In 1958, Syria entered a brief union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic, which was terminated by the 1961 Syrian coup d'état. The Arab Republic of Syria came into being in late 1961 after December 1 constitutional referendum, and was increasingly unstable until the Ba'athist coup d'état, since which the Ba'ath Party has maintained its power. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, and its system of government is considered to be non-democratic by American NGO Freedom House. Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1970 to 2000. EMERGENCE OF THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR The above undemocratic history and struggle to hold on to power had been a silent and salient cause of the present war in Syria. The Syrian Civil War is an ongoing multi-sided armed conflict with international interventions taking place in Syria. The unrest began in the early spring of 2011 within the context of the Arab Spring protests, with nationwide protests against President Bashar al-Assad's government, whose forces responded with violent crackdowns. The conflict gradually morphed from mass protests to an armed rebellion after months of military sieges. A United Nations report released in December, 2012, stated that the conflict had "become overtly sectarian in nature", between Alawite–dominated government forces, militias and other Shia groups fighting primarily against Sunni-dominated rebel groups, however this had been severally denied by both opposition and government forces Figure 1Syria Map Current military situation: Red: Syrian Government, Yellow: Syrian Democratic Forces (Rojava), Grey: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, White: al-Nusra Front,Green: Syrian Opposition Protests, civil uprising, and defections (January–July 2011) The protests started on 15 March 2011, when protesters marched in the capital of Damascus, demanding democratic reforms and the release of political prisoners. The security forces retaliated by opening fire on the protesters, and according to witnesses who spoke to the BBC, the government forces detained six of them. The protest was triggered by the arrest of a boy and his friends by the government for writing a graffiti called "The people want the fall of the regime", in the city of Daraa. Louai al-Hussein, an analyst and writer wrote that "Syria is now on the map of countries in the region with an uprising", referencing the Arab Spring which was concurrently starting. On the 20th, the protesters burned down a Ba'ath Party headquarters and "other buildings". The ensuing clashes claimed the lives of seven police officers and 15 protesters. Ten days later in a speech, President Bashar al-Assad blamed "foreign conspirators" pushing Israeli propaganda for the protests Initially, the Syrian government relied mainly on its armed forces, but since 2014 local protection units made up of volunteers known as National Defense Force have come to play a larger role, gradually becoming the primary military force of the Syrian state. From the early stages, the Syrian government received technical, financial, military and political support from Russia, Iran and Iraq. In 2013, Iran-backed Hezbollah entered the war in support of the Syrian Army. Due to foreign involvement, the conflict had been called a proxy war between the regional Sunni and Shia powers, most prominently as a proxy conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran. In September 2015, Russia, Iraq, Iran and Syria set up a joint operation room (information centre) in Baghdad to coordinate their activity in Syria. On 30 September 2015, Russia started its own air campaign on the side and at the request of the government of Syria. The resultant proxy war between the United States and Russia led some commentators to characterize the situation as a "a proto-world war with nearly a dozen countries embroiled in two overlapping conflicts" In July 2013, the Syrian government was said to be in control of approximately 30–40% of the country's territory and 60% of the Syrian population; in August 2015, the territory fully controlled by the Syrian Army was reported to have shrunk to 29,797 km2, roughly 16% of the country but still retaining the majority of the population. Since October 2015, the Syrian government, backed up by direct Russian military involvement, has made significant advances both against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other rebels, most notably re-capturing Palmyra from the ISIL in March 2016. International organizations have accused the Syrian government, ISIL and other opposition forces of severe human rights violations, with multiple massacres occurring The conflict caused a considerable displacement of population. On 1 February 2016, a formal start of the UN-mediated Geneva Syria peace talks was announced by the UN, with the fighting continuing unabated. What are the main humanitarian challenges in Syria? Inside Syria, ongoing fighting has killed civilians, and decimated infrastructure and economic markets. Amid widespread violence, over 2 million Syrian children have left school. Attacks on homes, schools and hospitals continue to rise. Syrians live in areas that are difficult or impossible for aid workers to reach According to UNHCR the Syrian war had produced over 4,000,000 refugees,7,600,000 internally displaced person. Over 34,500 had been captured or missing and between 273,520 to 368,529 killed by February,2016. Women and children are particularly vulnerable to a range of safety issues including sexual violence, child labor, and physical and mental trauma. In actual fact the crises in Syria had given rise to one the worst refugee crises in the Middle East. The scale of death, injury, and displacement from the conflict that began following the Arab Spring protests of 2011 is unimaginable. Civilians are under relentless, with about 1.9 million people under siege, borders closed to refugees, and rampant bombings of medical facilities and heavily populated areas. An estimated four and a half million people have fled outside the country, with the vast majority fleeing to Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, and Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of people are living in besieged areas inside the country, with extremely limited access to health care. Financial Support Different Non Governmental Agencies, Countries, Religious organizations raise fund to support war victims in Syria. Agencies like human Care Syria, Better Place and Jesuit Refugee Service, Save the Children, among others are online, and reaching out to different foundations to raising funds. Funds and donations were serious needed for feeding, movement, new schools, treatment and all other support that are to be giving. Syria government at the beginning of the war release funds, but it later dwindle because they too became broke because most of its revenue was being spent on acquiring war equipments. According to UNOCHA it is estimated that by the end of the year that half of the remaining 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. The latest update of the Regional Response Plan for Syrian refugees totals US$2.9 billion. The governments of Lebanon and Jordan are also appealing for funds, asking for US$449 million and US$380 million respectively. The humanitarian appeal for inside Syria is for US$1.4 billion..This all adds up to US$5 billion, the largest appeal in history Total Appeal $ Received to Date $ Difference $ 4,539,342,336 1,380,064,478 3,159,277,858 Table 1 Fund being requested to support war victims in Syria Medical support to Syrian war victims In viewing the Syrian war some of the most notable agency that appear frequently in giving medical support is Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC). They set up hospital and clinics in northwestern, western, and central Syria, Civilians are under relentless attack in Syria’s five-year-old conflict, with 1.9 million people under siege, borders closed to refugees, and rampant bombings of medical facilities and heavily populated areas. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) MSF continues to operate medical facilities inside Syria, as well as directly supporting more than 150 medical structures throughout the country, they offers a wide range of services including outpatient and inpatient consultations, emergency room, surgical care, and maternity. In addition the MSF team provides mental health care, and they do refer patients to other structures if they cannot be treated in the MSF hospital. Figure 2 MSF medical team attending to war causalities in Syria Since 2011, MSF has been supporting a growing number of medical structures in government-held and opposition-controlled areas throughout Syria, with a particular emphasis on structures in areas under siege. By October 2015 MSF was actively supporting more than 150 medical structures, which vary from small rural health posts to full hospitals in urban areas. The supported structures are throughout the country, including in Idlib, Aleppo, Homs, Hama, rural Damascus, and in Deraa. They developed in close collaboration with Syrian medical networks and run from neighboring countries, the support projects run by MSF consist of donations of essential medical equipment and relief material, distance training for staff trapped inside Syria, as well as support for ambulance services. Following assessments in 2013, MSF established a maternal and child health care project in the northern town, close to the border with Syria. The catchment area is home to tens of thousands of Syrian refugees living outside the refugee camps who have difficulty accessing the care they need. Needs for maternal and child care increased at the end of 2014, when Jordanian authorities announced that all Syrian refugees, whether registered or not, would have to pay for Ministry of Health services. In the first quarter of 2015, the project was upgraded to be able to manage complicated deliveries and provide Caesarean sections as well as an intensive care unit. Also International Rescue Committee (IRC) began assisting Syrians in 2012, providing emergency relief, partnering with local and diaspora groups to ensure the uninterrupted flow of medicines, supplies, and equipment, and also supporting over 70 clinics and mobile teams to deliver primary care, trauma services, reproductive health care, and dialysis. Humanitarian support Coordinating this support is the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). They are coordinating other agencies, the humanitarian response was high at the beginning of the war but as it progress the response has decreased compared to needs, 71% of the funds needed to support civilians inside Syria and refugees in neighboring countries were provided. In 2014, this had declined to 57% and declined further in 2015 and 2016 respectively. International Rescue Committee (IRC) was equally giving humanitarian support to war victims by supplying thousands of displaced people with clothing and emergency supplies; running classes, counseling and protection services for thousands of children in camps and communities; creating safe spaces for women and girls that offer services for survivors of violence, as well as counseling and skills training; providing emergency cash assistance to help displaced families meet their immediate needs; building households’ economic stability with job training and small business support. In 2015 MSF teams on board three ships patrolling the Mediterranean Sea assisted over 23,000 people in distress either through direct rescues (20,129) or by transfer from or to other vessels, and took part in 120 separate rescue interventions, disembarking safely in Italy more than 80 times. Data from the Bourbon Argos show that 4,424 rescued people were in need of medical care, 355 were suffering from a serious health condition and 140 were pregnant women. Countries support like, the European Union, United Stated of America, United Kingdom, Israel, Norway and some other nations gave humanitarian support. Neighboring countries like Turkey hosts more than a million refugees who fled the conflict in Syria and are being cared for, Jordan is host to around 629,000 registered refugees, and a roughly equal number are estimated to be living in the country unregistered. The situation in Lebanon remains highly volatile. The refugee influx is putting considerable strain on public services and exacerbating tensions in the country. Since December 2014, measures put in place by the government—such as the limitation of entrance in Lebanon for refugees—have reduced the number of new refugees arriving in the country. As of May 6, 2015, the UNHCR suspended new registrations of refugees in Lebanon, in line with a request by the Lebanese government. The Catholic Church working on the ground, the bishops and their priests and Sisters are able to evaluate what is needed and ensure that those who are most vulnerable are given the assistance they urgently require. Christians from Syria and Iraq have been the most recent recipients of emergency aid – money had been given since the conflict began, to provide shelter, blankets, medicine and food essentials both to those still in Syria and to the tens of thousands who have left everything behind and fled to neighboring Lebanon and Jordan. Many of these refugees have fled violence before, having left Iraq for the shelter of Syria before civil war broke out. Their support also includes help for vital pastoral projects in Syria. Psychological/ Trauma support Both inside Syria and outside different groups are offering different psychological and trauma counseling sessions to women ,children and lifesaving trauma surgery for patients injured in the Syrian conflict, a case is Salwah Mekrsh who was shot by a sniper in Aleppo and now she can't walk, as a refugee in Kilis, Turkey, she is receiving psychological support from MSF. Psychological treatment, and workshops are also been giving to the victims of war inside the refugee camps. This service have especially focused on women who have been used as sex slaves by ISIS since the radical fighters went on a rampage of murder, looting, rape, and abduction of girls and women. Agencies were on ground, supporting children whose schooling has been disrupted by the conflict, and setting up safe spaces in refugee camps for children to learn and play and providing refugees with psychosocial support to help reduce emotional consequences of traumatic stress and restore a sense of hope and normalcy. Trauma service centers were set up in refugee camps to treat poly trauma resulting from blast injuries. In the northwest of Syria, MSF runs a 15-bed burn unit, staffed by Syrian nationals and supported by an international team in southern Turkey. The facility began as a trauma center, but as specific needs for specialized burn treatment were identified, itcombined trauma services with burn treatment on this work. Burn patients needing skin grafts, frequent dressings, and/or physiotherapy are treated in this center, as are emergency cases in a small emergency room. In August 2015, the Reconstructive Surgery Project in Amman Jordan, moved into a new renovated structure in the capital city. The move to the new hospital is intended to improve the quality of the medical services offered to patients in the structure. The project was established in 2006 to offer orthopedic, maxillofacial, and plastic surgery, as well as physiotherapy and psychosocial support to victims of violence in the region. As the conflict in neighboring Syria escalated, the number of Syrian patients increased to the point that more than 50 percent of the patients in the hospital are Syrian. Since it began nine years ago, the hospital has admitted more than 3,700 cases and conducted 8,238 surgeries. Their services goes beyond the physical care of war victims as it aims to improve the quality of their lives as much as possible. This project provides a comprehensive package of psychological care and rehabilitation, allowing the patients to reintegrate into their societies after their treatment Conclusion According to Dr Glossop writing for citizens for global solutions, he said one important lesson to learn from this situation in Syria is that the use of military force by some nations against other nations, requires some serious thought and possibly unprecedented action and enforcement. It is evident that our 20th-century inter-national political institutions are totally inadequate for our 21st-century global community. Another is that we are more likely to be able to deal successfully with this war problem, if the world focus on early warning signs, when war isn't imminent or already happening. If and when this crisis in Syria passes, let's remember both of these important lessons. Approaches to getting support for war victims in Syria is a seriously challenging, aid access has not improved over 4.8 million people in need reside in areas defined by the UN as "hard to reach", because of i. The terrain of the country ii. Devastating nature of the war iii. Paucity of fund see table1 iv. Selfish interest of both the groups fighting and International powers backing the groups see fig 1. We can imagine that MSF has also been unable to receive permission from the government of Syria to work in areas it controls, again meaning millions of people are out of reach of hands-on assistance from any external aid provider. Hospitals and other medical facilities were being bombed, new built schools destroyed, civilian settlement attacked. To maximize support for war victims, I am of the view that UN should look at how their resolutions can be enforced. Three resolutions passed in 2014 by 15-member Security Council called for an end to attacks on civilians and an increase in aid and allowed the UN to operate in Syria without permission from Damascus, among other things failed. UN should also focus on effectiveness and accountability, seeking out increased donor, and enhancing multilateral collaboration with more agencies. REFERENCES 1. /en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Médecins Sans Frontières 2. Extract from "International Humanitarian Law : an introduction", Henry Dunant Institute, Geneva/Paul Haupt Publishers, Bern, 1993. Updated by the author in November 1998. 3. Catholic relief service 4. http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php,, 5. http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/syria.php 6. Wood, L. Todd (February 8, 2016). "Russia supporting Kurdish groups in Syria to Turkey’s detriment". Washington Times. 7. International Crisis Group (13 July 2011). "Popular Protest in North Africa and the Middle East (VII): The Syrian Regimes Slow-Motion Suicide" (PDF). Middle East/North Africa Report N°109. Retrieved 22 July 2011 8. Syrian war: Suspected Russian air strikes destroy two hospitals - despite so-called Syria 'ceasefire'". The Independent UK. 15 February 2016 8 Sherlock, Ruth (7 April 2015). "In Syria's war, Alawites pay heavy price for loyalty to Bashar al-Assad". London: The Daily Telegraph 9. United Nations, Syria Humanitarian Assistance Response Plan (SHARP). Retrieved 18 September 2011 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_civil_war 11. Syria Crisis Response Summary" (PDF). Department for International Development. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015 12. http://globalsolutions.org/blog/2013/08/ 14. https://fts.unocha.org/pageloader.aspx?page=special-syriancrisis 15. https://blog.usaid.gov/2015