| | © UNHCR/Diego Ibarra Sánchez |
Hi John,
My name is Karolina and I work for UNHCR in Lebanon, which is currently home to around 1.5 million Syrian refugees. More than half of them are children.
It’s hard to believe, but it’s been nearly 10 years since the conflict in Syria broke out. And while refugees in places like Lebanon are now safe from shelling and other daily threats that an active conflict brings, each day remains a fight for survival.
Lebanon has been hit by a severe economic crisis, worsened by COVID-19 and last year’s devastating explosion in Beirut, plunging many into poverty.
Nine out of 10 refugees currently live below the extreme poverty line.
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UNHCR provides monthly multipurpose cash assistance to some of the most vulnerable refugee families. They use this to pay for rent, food, medical expenses and other basic needs. But, with such a large refugee population, there isn’t enough money to help everyone, not even everyone in need.
Syrian refugees are experiencing layer upon layer of crisis. Many people feel more hopeless today than when they first fled the country. People are desperate. |
Each day we get thousands of calls from refugees telling us they can’t live like this anymore. |
In the midst of all this, winter has brought big storms, torrential rain and flooding. I’ve stood in homes that are knee-deep in water.
Our teams are out every day, whatever the weather, pumping out flood water and providing tarpaulins, insulation and other supplies to make shelters sturdier.
Since mid-January, we’ve helped more than 6,000 refugees living in more than 400 sites in the worst affected areas of Northern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley and in Southern Lebanon and some in the urban areas of Beirut. But we have to do more.
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