Syrian conflict: Three years on and human cost mounts

It is three years to the day that the war in Syria began. Sophie Magennis argues that Ireland has a role to play in alleviating the growing human cost of the conflict.

It is now three years since the conflict in Syria began. Three years since the first shots were fired and deaths recorded in a tragedy that has now left over 100,000 dead.

Three years since the first of 10,000 children were killed. Caught in the crossfire of an adults’ conflict, with many more tortured, maimed and sexually abused.

And it is three years since the first families were forced to flee their homes. Running out of fear for their lives to friends, family and so often now, other countries. 2.5 million Syrians have become refugees since March 2011.

On current forecasts, the figure will be 4.1 million by December. The total population of Ireland just five years ago.

If there is to be any end in sight to the enormous suffering visited upon the Syrian people, it can only come from a political solution. Humanitarian assistance will not stop the fighting.

However as the fighting rages on, with 3,000 people a day crossing the Syrian border to Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, organisations such as UNHCR will continue to relieve the worst of the suffering and assist those in need.

The Irish Government recognised this early on, providing financial assistance to the United Nations and other humanitarian organisations working in the region. €26m has so far been pledged for the Syrian crisis, with support in the form of expert humanitarian personnel seconded to organisations such as UNHCR invaluable at this time.

But as Syria’s neighbours struggle to deal with the ever growing pressures on their infrastructure and public services, European countries must do more than simply offer financial support.

First, people fleeing Syria must be granted access when they approach the borders of EU states. Only 4% of Syrian refugees have sought refuge in Europe, a tiny proportion. However those who do seek safety in Europe often face severe difficulties at borders during their passage, forcing many to undertake dangerous journeys at sea.

An estimated 800 people died last year crossing the Mediterranean alone. UNHCR is working to minimise such deaths, but desperate people will take desperate measures as history records. 1 million people left Ireland in the immediate aftermath of the famine despite mortality rates of 30% or more on some coffin ships. More must be done to help those seeking safety to find it.

Second, access to fair asylum procedures must be provided. Most Syrians will meet the criteria for refugee status or international protection. All the Syrian asylum seekers who had their applications for refugee status determined in Ireland last year were declared to be refugees, a total of 32 persons. This is a very welcome development, however, recognition rates vary considerably across Europe and more must be done to achieve a harmonised approach and equal access to protection in all EU member states.

Third, those most in need must be offered a possibility of resettlement. Ireland has a proud history in this regard, stretching back 100 years ago to the early days of World War 1, when 150 fishermen and their families from Dunkirk arrived on the North Wall in Dublin. In total, 3,000 Belgian refugees were received in Ireland, with committees established up and down the country to assist them in their new homes.

Ireland has so far offered 90 places for Syrian refugees to be resettled into Ireland this year and 31 Afghan refugees were resettled from Damascus last year. UNHCR welcomes the resettlement places provided by Ireland and other States. But the need is great and more places are needed. At the global level, UNHCR is encouraging States to make available additional resettlement places so that 30,000 Syrians can be resettled by the end of this year and 100,000 by the end of 2015.

Resettling people is not just about supporting those directly affected by war. It is also about offering solidarity with countries in the region, who have taken in the vast majority of refugees from the crisis. In Lebanon, for example, which was already grappling with deteriorating infrastructure before the conflict, the population of Syrian refugees is approaching one million, or 22 per cent of the population. Iraq and Jordan are also under unimaginable pressures, with water tables and wells depleted across the region due to the sudden influx of war weary, frightened civilians fleeing Syria. Ireland, along with its European neighbours can help alleviate some of this pressure, reaching a hand out over the Mediterranean in a show of solidarity.

Just as Ireland has assisted Hungarians, Chileans and Belgians in the past, the international community must not abandon the people of Syria to the unimaginable horrors of the conflict and its horrible consequences, be they homelessness, hunger or the impossibility that their children will ever go to school.

We may not be able to stop the conflict. But that should not stop us from helping those we can.

Sophie Magennis is Head of Office for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Ireland