cnn updates: Refugees inside their own country

The United Nations estimates that 4.25 million people are internally displaced in Syria.Many people are now heavily relying on aid agencies to provide basic amenities. The U.N. says that for 2013 alone, aid of $1.4 billion is needed to deal with the crisis.The WHO says more than 50% of hospitals have been damaged or are non-operational.

(CNN) -- The ongoing violence in Syria has left millions of people displaced. And while many Syrians fled to neighboring countries to escape the bloodshed, others have remained despite being in harm's way, though they have been forced from their homes.

According to the United Nations (U.N), an estimated 4.25 million people are homeless inside the country -- half of whom are believed to be children. Hundreds of thousands of men, women and children have been left vulnerable after being forced to relocate from their homes, often multiple times.

Without adequate shelter, food and medical care, many people are now heavily relying on aid agencies to provide basic amenities. The family of Ayesha (not her real name) is among them.

The U.N. estimates 4.25 million people are homeless inside Syria. This 4-year-old girl carries a physical scar of the ongoing conflict -- after being burned during shelling. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":true,"x":4,"y":3,"pos":1,"title":"Millions displaced within Syria"}

The girl's grandmother (pictured) says she fled her hometown in northern Syria after a bomb destroyed her home, killing two of her teenage children. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":4,"y":3,"pos":2,"title":"Millions displaced within Syria"}

Syria's medical system has suffered a heavy blow in the conflict. Without adequate shelter, food and medical care, many people are now heavily relying on aid agencies to provide basic amenities. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":4,"y":3,"pos":3,"title":"Millions displaced within Syria"}

Regardless of the dangers of operating in the middle of a battlefield, several NGOs are trying to establish medical care, with some hospitals even operated secretly. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":4,"y":3,"pos":4,"title":"Millions displaced within Syria"}

This four-year-old boy suffered from burns in an attack. "He was burned while he was at the house, they bombed the house, which collapsed on him, and there is no available treatment for him," his mother says.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":4,"y":3,"pos":5,"title":"Millions displaced within Syria"}

The WHO says more than 50% of hospitals have been damaged or are non-operational.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":4,"y":3,"pos":6,"title":"Millions displaced within Syria"}

Doctor Mohammed Abdul Salam, a pediatrician and medical director of a children's clinic run by the charity says: "There were no incubators in areas outside the government's control for premature babies.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":4,"y":3,"pos":7,"title":"Millions displaced within Syria"} Millions displaced within SyriaMillions displaced within SyriaMillions displaced within SyriaMillions displaced within SyriaMillions displaced within SyriaMillions displaced within SyriaMillions displaced within Syria

Millions displaced within Syria Ayesha says she fled her hometown in northern Syria after a bomb destroyed her home, killing two of her teenage children. She now lives in an abandoned building site with her remaining children and grandchildren and she fears for her family's safety, which is why she has asked not to use her real name.

Her four-year-old granddaughter carries a physical scar of the ongoing conflict -- after being burned during shelling.

Recalling the days she lived in her own house and farmland, Ayesha says: "You have five people being killed, at times six or 10 and 15. Every day they targeted us with bombs, missiles and snipers."

Prison inmates suffer the most in Syria

Ayesha is one among the 6.8 million people the U.N. deems to be in urgent need of protection and assistance.

The destruction of homes and land has forced many others to abandon their old lives.

Zenat (not her real name), a young mother, says she fled after her house was bombed. Her four-year-old son suffers from burns from that day.

"He was burned while he was at the house, they bombed the house, which collapsed on him, and there is no available treatment for him," she says.

Syria's medical system has suffered a heavy blow in this nearly three-year-old conflict. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 50% of Syrian hospitals have been destroyed or are non-operational.

7-year-old's story shows pain, worry of Syrian refugees

That means, for a mother like Zenat, immediate medical care is unavailable even in dire situations.

"We did not get any help, there are no doctors, where shall we take him? My heart burned where I saw him this way, it was very hard feeling for me," she recalls.

According to data given to the WHO by Syrian health authorities, as of July 2013, 60% of the 91 public hospitals across the country have been affected by the conflict. Of those, 20 have been damaged, and 35 are out of service.

Many Syrian doctors have also fled the country and for aid agencies trying to provide medical relief to the needy, Syria remains one of the most dangerous places to work.

Some of the heavily damaged towns in Syria have even less access to healthcare. Syria's health ministry estimates that in the governorates of Deir-ez-Zo, Idleb and Aleppo, 70% of health centers are either damaged or out of service, the WHO said.

World Food Programme beefing up its Syria program

Aid needed

Regardless of the dangers of operating in the middle of a battlefield, several Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are trying to establish medical care, with some hospitals even operated secretly. British-Syrian run charity Hand in Hand for Syria is one of them. It helps operates 37 clinics and hospitals within Syria, supported largely by donated medical supplies and volunteer doctors.

In a makeshift clinic in Idleb province, Doctor Mohammed Abdul Salam, a pediatrician and medical director of a children's clinic run by the charity says: "There were no incubators in areas outside the government's control for premature babies.

"In besieged areas, private hospitals used to charge high prices and people could not afford the costs of care, and that's why there was high infant mortality."

The U.N. body for assistance in Syria -- the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs -- estimates that for 2013 alone aid of $1.4 billion is needed to deal with the growing humanitarian crisis inside the country.

Destabilization of Syria's population will have an impact for many, many years to come. But for now, immediate assistance is needed for millions living under dire conditions.

How to help Syrian refugees

/* push in config for this share instance */cnn_shareconfig.push({"id" : "cnn_sharebar2","url" : "http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/03/world/meast/syria-civilians-displaced/index.html","title" : "Refugees inside their own war-torn country -- Syrians continue to suffer"});

September 16, 2013 -- Updated 1842 GMT (0242 HKT)

Many organizations are offering supplies, shelter and medical care for the people displaced by the crisis, and you can help.December 23, 2013 -- Updated 0831 GMT (1631 HKT) Members of the Lebanese Red Cross carry the coffin of Abbas Khan, a British doctor who died in a Syrian jail, as it arrives in Beirut on December 21, 2013.

Members of the Lebanese Red Cross carry the coffin of Abbas Khan, a British doctor who died in a Syrian jail, as it arrives in Beirut on December 21, 2013.

Death has become so normal in Syria that most people fail to notice it, writes a former foreign ministry official.October 16, 2013 -- Updated 1708 GMT (0108 HKT)

CNN senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh looks back at his reports from the front line, for which he has won an Emmy.January 28, 2013 -- Updated 1637 GMT (0037 HKT)

Thousand of war-weary Syrians continue their exodus into Jordan. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom travels with some to the border.October 29, 2013 -- Updated 2201 GMT (0601 HKT)

Polio, not seen for a decade, has returned to Syria. Atika Shubert reports on the crisis that leaves 500,000 at risk.September 6, 2013 -- Updated 1000 GMT (1800 HKT)

New video by opposition groups in Syria exposes suffering from apparent malnutrition, as CNN's Arwa Damon reports.October 23, 2013 -- Updated 0357 GMT (1157 HKT)

CNN's Atika Shubert reports on the horrific violence witnessed by one volunteer doctor in Syria.July 23, 2013 -- Updated 1051 GMT (1851 HKT)

In Lebanon, resentment toward Syrian refugees is growing. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom reports.November 6, 2013 -- Updated 1340 GMT (2140 HKT)

Raqqa was one of Syria's most liberal cities. Now locals call it Tora Bora. Now they say it's as if the Taliban of Afghanistan have taken over.September 16, 2013 -- Updated 0158 GMT (0958 HKT)

Increasing numbers of Syrian children are suffering from malnutrition as vital supplies are cut off, as CNN's Arwa Damon reports.September 11, 2013 -- Updated 0132 GMT (0932 HKT)

Facing the threat of U.S. military action, Syria has said it welcomes a Russian proposal to hand over its stockpiles of chemical weapons. November 5, 2013 -- Updated 1321 GMT (2121 HKT)

It's an odd experience flying in to Hatay, southern Turkey, on the border with Syria and its nasty and seemingly infinite war these days.November 6, 2013 -- Updated 1612 GMT (0012 HKT)

Al Qaeda now holds power across large parts of northern Syria, according to a CNN survey of towns, activists and analysts. August 31, 2013 -- Updated 1122 GMT (1922 HKT)

For 13 years, Bashar al-Assad has governed Syria, for the last two, he's faced repeated calls from inside and outside the country for his resignation. September 10, 2013 -- Updated 0711 GMT (1511 HKT)

The younger brother of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is described by analysts as someone even more brutal than his sibling.August 29, 2013 -- Updated 1157 GMT (1957 HKT)

As the Syrian civil war rages on, the president's high-profile wife, Asma, has kept a low profile.September 6, 2013 -- Updated 2224 GMT (0624 HKT)

The Syrian civil war has birthed rebel groups across a wide ideological and geographic spectrum. September 16, 2013 -- Updated 1842 GMT (0242 HKT)

More than 2 million Syrians have fled their country, according to the United Nations refugee agency. August 28, 2013 -- Updated 0226 GMT (1026 HKT)

CNN's Fred Pleitgen obtains exclusive video footage of the aftermath of a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria.Today's five most popular stories More

View the original article here

cnn updates

Monday, December 23, 2013

Refugees inside their own country

No comments:

Post a Comment