Women reclaiming their future in Syria
For years, Khan Shaykhoun in southern Idlib was known around the world as a symbol of the Syrian war. Right here, Norwegian Church Aid has established a center for women and girls. Everyone we meet carries…
A visit to a region in crisis
- Unfortunately, I didn’t find much hope among the people I spoke to in this vulnerable and troubled region. It was all the more heartening, however, to see at first hand how our colleagues and partners are making a difference to so many people every single day, says Secretary General Anne Cecilie after ten hectic days in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria.
During the first few days, Anne Cecilie and the team from head office heard and witnessed harrowing accounts of oppression, the destruction of homes and a society in the West Bank that can only be described as apartheid. There were meetings with farmers living under daily violence, harassment and threats; both women and men who are beaten up, their livestock stolen, killed or poisoned – all to make the situation and daily life unbearable, so that they are forced to give up their land so that settlers can take it over.
- We cannot harbour any illusions that the violence is being perpetrated by rogue extremists who ‘unfortunately take the law into their own hands’ against the Palestinian population – this is a deliberate and orchestrated policy by the Israeli authorities to make life unbearable for the Palestinians, says Anne Cecilie, describing the situation in the West Bank as ‘almost unbearable’ and ‘shameful’. Meetings with both Palestinian and Israeli partners, as well as the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Ramallah, all had one thing in common: the situation for Palestinians in the West Bank has deteriorated considerably.
War in Lebanon
The journey continued to Lebanon. Despite the ceasefire, Israel bombs large parts of the south every single day, and in Beirut, Anne Cecilie was able to take part in food distribution and meet families who have fled for their lives to a school housing internally displaced people. As part of Norwegian Church Aid’s major humanitarian response, we are providing food, water, mattresses and blankets to many of those who are still on the run.
Since the war broke out in early March, over 3,500 people have been killed, according to Lebanese health authorities. At the same time, more than one million people have been forced to flee – roughly one in six of the country’s inhabitants.
- I met families who have fled several times in a short space of time, and who now lack almost everything – food, clean water, medicines and safety. It is deeply shocking to witness at close quarters a situation where people are being killed every single day, says Anne Cecilie, who reported live to Norwegian TV-news from Palestine, Syria and Lebanon.
Vulnerable in Syria
During the visit to Syria, the delegation met our church partners in Damascus and accompanied them on field visits to a rehabilitated health centre on the outskirts of the city, which remains in complete ruins following the civil war, and a water project in Jaramana, an area that still houses many internally displaced people who are unable to return home.
- In Daraa, we visited a centre run for women and girls who have been subjected to gender-based violence. Among other things, the centre offers psychosocial support, follow-up and training.
- The situation in Syria remains extremely challenging following the fall of the Assad regime, though in different ways now. Over 90 per cent of the population still lives in poverty, and many express scepticism towards the new authorities, particularly regarding the protection of minorities and the possibility of a more conservative social development. At the same time, there is greater freedom of expression than before, and new relations with Europe, the US and the region offer some hope of economic recovery, Anne Cecilie concludes.
From bad to worse
- Following the recent incident where, amongst others, Minister of International Development Åsmund Aukrust had to turn back on his way to Lebanon due to escalating hostilities, I am very pleased that we managed to make this trip to a region in a situation that, to a large extent and unfortunately, is going from bad to worse. In the midst of all this, I am grateful to be able to meet all our colleagues and partners who stand firm every single day, often risking their own safety, to make a difference for many of those who need help the most.
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