Situation in the Country

 

Syria has lived for two years in a state of civil war that affects all areas of the country. The armed conflict is between opposing government forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and many armed groups.

The conflict began with a simple demonstration of March 15, 2011, which has resulted in arrests and expanded on a national basis. The protests calling for the establishment of a democratic regime have transformed into continuous and bloody clashes. The conflict has switched from a small arms conflict to one that has seen the use of more and more heavy artillery and now has grown to the stage of a general civil war. Today there are approximately 120,000 deaths of which half are children. One of the tragedies of this war is the large number of refugees. Some of these have reached neighboring countries like Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey. The number of refugees registered by UNHCR reached 2,000,000 people, most of them women and children. The refugees live in makeshift shelters found along the way, sometimes the stables of animals or makeshift camps. The organized camps that receive the support of international associations are outside the country.
The intervention of Auxilia in Syria comes from the need to help the victims of a conflict that has lasted for more than two years. The initiative was created to bring aid to the refugee children in the region of Idlib. The area in which it was decided to intervene is the border between Turkey and Syria, Syrian territory in this region is not reached by the aid of the international associations. After careful evaluation of the situation on the ground with the presence of our staff we have highlighted the most obvious criteria related to the displacement of large groups of people by the conflict. The sudden abandonment of their homes, removal of their habits, work and general lives in addition to the physical discomfort has caused great psychological distress. The greatest suffering was found in children with deep psychological trauma. The intervention of Auxilia is aimed to restore some stability to the population of the area of Idlib and Atma. Offering services to women and children who were in their countries prior to the armed conflict and this has happened by bringing basic necessities, creating an educational environment in the schools that can engage children, trying to reinstate teachers who before the war worked in the field and bringing them back to teach in the school, providing a medical point of reference in case of need without making long trips and giving women the opportunity to economically provide for their families doing activities of micro entrepreneurship. The intervention has restored security to the population of the area while also reducing the sense of abandonment given by the continuity and timing of displacement.
After the start of the conflict Auxilia monitored day-to-day evolution of the situation in the Syrian conflict. The attention has been focused on the situation of civilians and children in particular. Thanks to our contacts within the country, we followed the movement of the population towards the Jordanian border into Iraq and into Turkey. We have identified in the border crossing area of  Bab Al Hawa a particularly difficult situation with many spontaneous camps that were born outdoors. With the closure of the border Turkish transit camps have become permanent camps. The area of Atma in Syrian territory had met the first refugees who lived under the olive trees, outdoors, without means. The aid we had sent come through the Syrian Mezzaluna Rossa and later by humanitarian organizations working in the country, Watan, IHH and finally Maram Foundation. The field presented has significant problems: lack of water, lack of adequate sanitation, lack of food, lack of tents, and lack of international organizations. In the six months in which we have followed the evolution of Atma its population has grown from 4,000 to 25,000 people. The situation was hastened by the arrival of winter when it is passed through a phase of monitoring the preparation and organization of humanitarian intervention and the targeted delivery of humanitarian convoys.

 

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