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World must stand by aid pledges to Syrians: agencies

AFPJo BiddleMarch 13, 2013

WASHINGTON

Humanitarian agencies Wednesday pleaded with governments to make goodon pledges of aid for Syrian refugees, saying they were swamped by demand with a fifth of thecountry now living in misery.

With four million out of a population of 20 million in need of assistance "the needs areoverwhelming," said Joel Charny, vice president of InterAction, a US-based umbrella group ofsome 190 non-governmental organizations.

As the Syrian war enters a third year, Charny said it was "baffling, considering the globalattention that this crisis is receiving" that refugee programs are not fully funded despite the $1.5billion pledged in January.

"We are faced with delivering aid in the face of a medium intensity conflict, advanced weaponryis being used," he said, on a conference call.

"Our community hasn't really been asked to do this since the Balkans," he added, referring tothe 1990s conflict which tore the former Yugoslavia apart.

He urged donors to make good on their pledges at a conference in Kuwait in January. So faronly around 20 percent of the $1.5 billion promised has been received, according to UnitedNations figures.

The biggest chunk, some $880 million, was pledged by Gulf nations such as Kuwait and theUnited Arab Emirates, which each put up some $300 million.

The United States has already provided about $385 million in humanitarian assistance, with afurther $115 in non-lethal aid to opposition areas.

The Syrian conflict erupted on March 15, 2011 as a revolt against President Assad al-Bashar.

It has triggered a tide of humanity both inside and outside the country, placing a huge strain onsmaller neighbors such as Jordan and Lebanon.

Jordan, with a population of only six and a half million, has taken in some 450,000 refugeesover the past two years, and the United Nations estimates the figure could grow to 660,000 bythe end of 2013.

Lebanon took in some 70,000 to 80,000 new refugees in February alone, with the Syrians nowapproaching some 20 percent of the population there.

Daryl Byler of the Mennonite Central Committee said several thousand people flood across theborder each night into Jordan and "aid agencies are not able to keep pace with the services andinfrastructure for the new arrivals."

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"One of the most compelling images for me is that every night the Jordanian military is at theborder, not to prevent Syrians from entering but to assist them," he said, speaking from Amman.

But he stressed the "burden of taking long-term refugees is clearly starting to take a toll" withtensions rising between Jordanians, already facing high unemployment and scarce resources,and the refugees.

"Generous international support is more urgent now than ever," he said.

Andrea Koppel, vice president of Mercy Corps, said "the response from the American peopleand the international community has fallen far short of the need.

"We need long-term planning assistance and support. This is a crisis that is going to be goingon for many, many months and likely many years to come."

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said US aid was already flowing to NGOs andthe United Nations to help the people of Syria.

But she agreed that "everybody needs to dig deep and not just make the promise, but deliver onthe promise."

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