The UN has given warning that hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugee children are vulnerable in their new homes, exposed to dangerous exploitation and at risk of missing out on an education.
A report published by the UN refugee agency UNHCR says children as young as seven have to work to provide for their families.
According to the study, children represent 52 per cent of the total Syrian refugee population, which now exceeds 2.2 million, and 75 percent of them are under the age of 12.
"This is the moment for the international community to fully understand that the support provided to the countries of the region needs to be strongly enhanced, needs to be really massive, because there is a risk for the asylum space if that doesn't happen," Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commisioner for Refugees, says.
The UNHCR report found that a majority of the refugee children live in Syria’s neighbouring countries, with Jordan and Lebanon combined hosting more than 60 per cent. As of 31 October 2013, 291,238 Syrian refugee children were living in Jordan and another 385,007 in Lebanon.
The turmoil in Syria has torn families apart, with more than 3,700 children in Jordan and Lebanon living without one or both of their parents, or with no adult care-givers at all.
By the end of September 2013, UNHCR had registered 2,440 unaccompanied or separated children in Lebanon and 1,320 in Jordan. In some cases the parents have died, been detained, or sent their children into exile alone out of fear for their safety.
"Some of them are literally speechless because they have seen horrors that affected them so much... they can't get it out of their mind, and they are highly traumatized," UNHCR spokesperson Roberta Russo told Al Jazeera.
Another disturbing symptom of the crisis is the vast number of babies born in exile who do not have birth certificates.
A recent UNHCR survey on birth registration in Lebanon revealed that 77 per cent of 781 refugee infants sampled did not have an official birth certificate. Between January and mid-October 2013, only 68 certificates were issued to babies born in Za’atari camp, Jordan.
A grave consequence of the conflict is that a generation is growing up without a formal education.
More than half of all school-aged Syrian children in Jordan and Lebanon are not in school.
In Lebanon, it is estimated that up to 200,000 school-aged Syrian refugee children could remain out of school at the end of the year.
aljazeera.com
29/11/13
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The Future of Syria – Refugee Children in Crisis word is the first in-depth survey conducted by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) of Syrian refugee children since the conflict began in March 2011.
It found, among other things, that many Syrian refugee children are growing up in fractured families, and that children are often the household’s primary breadwinners. Over 70,000 Syrian refugee families live without fathers and over 3,700 refugee children are either unaccompanied by or separated from both parents.
“If we do not act quickly, a generation of innocents will become lasting casualties of an appalling war,” High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said in a news release.
There are over 1.1 million Syrian refugee children, most living in neighbouring countries. UNHCR noted that the ongoing conflict is leaving physical and emotional scars.
In Lebanon, the first six months of 2013 saw 741 Syrian refugee children being referred to hospitals for treatment of injuries. In Jordan, more than 1,000 children at the Za'atri refugee camp have been treated for war-related injuries over the past year.
Anger and other emotional responses were also common, the agency noted. During focus group discussions with refugee boys, several expressed a desire to return to Syria to fight. The researchers also heard a report of boys being trained to fight in preparation for return to Syria.
Many refugee families send their children to work to ensure survival. In both Jordan and Lebanon, the researchers found children as young as seven working long hours for little pay, sometimes in dangerous or exploitative conditions.
Most of the 680 small shops in Jordan’s Za'atri refugee camp employ children. An assessment in 11 of Jordan's 12 governorates found nearly one-in-two refugee households surveyed relied partly or entirely on income generated by a child.
“The world must act to save a generation of traumatized, isolated and suffering Syrian children from catastrophe,” said Hollywood actress and UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie.
The study includes multiple testimonies from children. “Our lives are destroyed. We are not being educated, and without education there is nothing. We’re heading towards destruction,” said Nadia, a newly arrived refugee in Jordan.
More than half of Syrian refugee children in Jordan are not in school, according to the report. In Lebanon, it is estimated that some 200,000 school-aged Syrian refugee children could remain out of school at the end of the year.
There are also a large number of babies born in exile without birth certificates – an essential document in the battle against statelessness. A recent UNHCR survey on birth registration in Lebanon revealed that 77 per cent of 781 refugee infants sampled had no official birth certificate. Between January and mid-October 2013, only 68 certificates were issued to babies born in Za'atri camp.
Mr. Guterres and Ms. Jolie called for support for Syria’s neighbours to keep their borders open, improve their services and support the host communities. They also appealed for countries beyond Syria’s borders to offer resettlement and humanitarian admission to people who continue to feel unsafe in exile and families with seriously wounded children.
un.org
29/11/13
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