QUEZON City, Philippines (September 23) – Food and water shortage, bombings, and wrecked homes; these are just some of the problems that the citizens of Syria are facing right now. Since the war began in 2011, thousands of refugees had fled the land to search for a place that will provide them food and shelter. It is alarming that their number is increasing considering that many host countries are incapable of catering to their needs. From 7.9 million, the number of refugees escalated into 11 million this year according to Mercy Corps.
Fortunately, there are many countries that are willing to take the refugees under their wings just like Turkey – having the most number of refugees – followed by Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt. But this does not lessen the problem at hand for even though they have found shelter, food and water are still scarce. Refugees must find a job in order to make a living and sadly, there are not many job openings for the host country is getting crowded. Plus the fact that they are outcasts and most civilians do not want to lend a helping hand. Then there is the underlying problem about the ISIS who kills everything and anything in their path just to be heard. Their presence sparked fear and danger in the Middle East. Families have been broken apart as well and many children are now orphaned.In fact, according to the United Nations, more than half of the refugees are children below the age of 18. It is obviously questionable how they would be able to provide for their needs without the guidance of an adult. There is not enough assurance that the people residing in the refugee camps would adopt and take care of them for they have families of their own. Without immediate action, millions of children would be left homeless; their future snatched away by this insurmountable war.
The facts have been presented. So the question is, what do we do now? How can we put an end to the misery of millions of people? One way is to donate food, clothes and other necessities to different organizations like Mercy Corps, World Vision, and many more. Their goal is to help the refugees by collecting donations and fundraising. We must also target the public’s awareness about this matter. The more people know, the more help we can get. We can also be volunteers and dedicate our time into helping others and organize fundraising activities to gather money. Let us not also underestimate the power of a prayer. Any problem can be solved by a prayer, whether big or small.
Sadly, these efforts may not be enough to provide for millions of refugees for we still have to put a stop to the root cause of the problem, and that is the war itself. But let us trust that there is a greater force that will put an end to all of this, and that is God. The best thing we can do now is to promote unity, and walk hand in hand towards Syria’s better future. When we all work together, we can save these people. They are all counting on us.
Source: mercycorps.org
(written by Carissa Lazaro, edited by Jay Paul Carlos, additional research by Lovely Ann Cruz)
