Trying to make a difference in Syria

Photo: Ahlam (third from left) lost a leg in a bombing attack in Syria. She was fitted with a prosthesis and is now in a camp in Lebanon. Photo © Elias Saade/Handicap International.

The Syrian conflict has been going on since March 2011 and to date, millions of civilians have been – and continue to be – directly affected by it.

Between September and December 2016, an average of 94 attacks per day using explosive weapons were reported, according to a report by the International NGO Safety Organization (INSO). These bombings destroyed much needed infrastructure such as hospitals, power plants and drainage systems. More than 7,000 schools are no longer in use, according to the United Nations.

Handicap International (HI), recently released a report that details what is going on in the region and how their organization is responding to the ongoing crisis.

Since the start of its operations in this region in 2012, Handicap International has provided assistance to thousands of individuals and families. The organization has orthopedically fitted some 10,000 people. More than 80,000 people have benefited from physical and functional rehabilitation sessions over the last five years. The NGO has also provided mine risk education to more than 400,000 people in Syria and Iraq about the dangers of explosive remnants of war that are scattered across the country.

“The Syrian crisis is mobilizing a large number of HI staff, mainly local ones and only a few expatriates,” said Jerome Bobin, managing director of Handicap International Canada, in an email interview. 

“Among these expatriates, from various nationalities, five Canadians have been active during the five years of our intervention, in the fields of physical rehabilitation or inclusive approaches.”

Handicap International is receiving funding from Canadian taxpayers for its efforts in the region.

“We have been supported by Global Affairs Canada since 2013 for activities in Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq,” said Mr. Bobin. “In 2016, we received $6 million for activities in Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq and we are currently managing a $9 million grant in Iraq, starting from January 2017 for a three-year duration. These funds are used for rehabilitation services, assistive devices, psychosocial support, risk education (weapons), inclusion and accessibility. We also received support from individuals and from Québec for psychosocial support activities in Lebanon.”

Mr. Bobin is grateful for the Canadian financial support but wants the government to do more.

“It (Canada) must strongly denounce the use of explosive weapons in populated areas which kill, injure, destroy essential services and push survivors and innocents to flee from their homeland, losing everything. Finally, Canada must continue to promote the international humanitarian law and the respect of humanitarian principles in all relevant occasions,” said Mr. Bobin.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 4.8 million people have fled to neighbouring countries and more than 6 million people are internally displaced within Syria. 

Canada has resettled approximately 40,000 Syrian refugees to date.