As we approach World Humanitarian Day on 19th August, we reflect on the crisis that is affecting the people of Syria.
Since 2013, when conflict began, more than 100,000 people have died and 10.8 million people are in need of help. More than 3 million people have now fled from Syria and are seeking aid, with 75% fleeing are women and children.
ActionAid have reported it’s the worst refugee crisis since WW2 and have expressed concern about the decline in public interest which is causing funding to dwindle.
Young people are being hugely affected as access to education is limited, leaving them with little or no qualifications and a 57% rate of unemployment. As it becomes harder for families to support each other, people are taking life-threatening journeys to Europe in hope of a better future.
“I had plans to work for a big company in Aleppo, but just as I got my job, the war broke out. My family is back in Syria and they have been supporting me financially, but now things are getting harder, they cannot afford for me to stay….. I am now looking at options to go to Europe by boat.” Syrian Business Admiration graduate.
In an effort to support the communities still living in Syria, ActionAid have developed a ‘Youth in Conflict’ programme. In urban areas across the country, they are setting up community centres that encourage young people to become involved in the planning, implementation and decision-making of projects that impacts their community and lives in an effort to help save a ‘lost generation’.
Discover more about ActionAid’s programmes to help fight the crisis in Syria.
