Day 15

In the three years since the Syrian civil war began, tens of thousands have died, many of them children. The UN has stopped updating the death count because it is too dangerous to collect accurate figures but, really, the numbers don’t matter. Each death is a personal tragedy, the loss of a human being and a reason for loved ones to grieve. 

Civilians fare badly in this war of attrition. Many are trapped in the war zones because fighters on one or both sides refuse to let them leave. They are vulnerable to injury from bombs, bullets, shrapnel, and have even endured gas and chemical attack. They have little or no access to food, and some have resorted to eating grass in desperation.

But even when people manage to leave the conflict zone, their troubles are far from over. 4 million people are internally displaced in Syria. They are, in effect, refugees within their own country.  Over two million others have fled to neighbouring countries such as Jordan, the Lebanon and Turkey. Taken together, these two figures mean that more than a third of the Syrian population has now been forced from their homes. 

These people left everything behind – household possessions, clothes, children’s toys. Last winter, one of the coldest on record, they had to cope without blankets and coats. They need money to buy supplies, but are not allowed to take jobs to earn that money.  

World In Need has raised money to buy much needed supplies for refugees in Jordan. Please pray for Syrian refugees and for our work in Jordan.