Syrian refugee numbers alarm UNHCR

The number of Syrian refugees has touched the 1 million mark and is of great concern for the international community, Imran Riza, UNHCR representative for the GCC, told Arab News.
“At the end of January, we had 700,000 refugees (registered and awaiting registration) and then last week, we reached 1,000,000, which is an additional 300,000 refugees since the pledging conference in Kuwait,” Riza said, cautioning that the number could reach 1.5 million by the end of June. In April last year, there were only 35,000 refugees.
“With a million people in flight, millions more displaced internally and thousands crossing the border every day, Syria is spiraling toward a full-scale disaster,” he noted.
This number, he said, translates into one million people who are dependent on the generosity of host countries, the response of humanitarian agencies and the financial support of governments and individuals.
He recalled that the UN donor conference summoned in Kuwait in January was able to secure an undertaking of $ 1.6 billion from countries in aid of the refugees. Major donors included Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, with each contributing $ 300 million toward the fund, while Bahrain pledged $ 20 million. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also attended the conference.
The representative said that it’s high time the UNHCR transformed these pledges into projects to relieve the refugees from their social, economic and psychological problems.
Riza said the problem necessitated a political solution. However, he added, the UNHCR’s prime concern is to alleviate the humanitarian crisis engulfing the Syrian refugees, of whom 51 percent are children. “Their urgent needs include proper education, health care and psychiatric treatment.”
He also said the UNHCR is deeply interested in assisting the countries hosting the refugees. He said Jordan has a staggering 332,000 displaced poeple, while Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt have 37,000, 186,000, 107,000, and 44,000 respectively.
“In some countries, there are no refugee camps, which means the asylum seekers are living among local communities,” he said, adding that Syrians are increasingly fleeing to North Africa and Europe.
“These host countries should not only be recognized for their unstinted commitment to keeping their borders open for Syrian refugees but should also be supported in a fitting manner.”
He said traditional UNHCR donors were the US, Canada, the European Union and Scandinavian countries, while less significant contributions were made by Middle Eastern countries. He also highlighted the fact that the Kingdom has increased its annual contribution to the UNHCR by $ 1 million since last year.
The Kingdom has helped the UNHCR in special circumstances, such as donating $ 2 million to Mali, $ 2 million to Rohingyas, $ 8 million to Jordan and $ 2 million worth of relief material to refugees in Syria.