Being Present in Lebanon
In the past seven years since the Syrian Crisis started, news of the ongoing war has been unavoidable. Uncertainty seems to be the only constant for refugees and yet, there is still a strong spirit of hope – participants on our most recent LIFE Team to Lebanon learned. For two weeks in May, seven compassionate […]
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Listening in Lebanon
Nardeen, a medical interpreter in Illinois, gets the opportunity to work with refugees from the Middle East but because her interactions with them are restricted to just interpreting, she has no time or place to give any personal advice or words of encouragement while on the job. The desire to work more closely with refugees […]
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The Edge of Hope
In 2017, the Syrian Civil War entered its seventh year. Bombs hit our local partner in Syria. Although there was some damage to the building, nobody was injured. “Last Friday, two bombs exploded in front of the building. I was near the window and shrapnel went through the two windows,” recalled the partner. “The windows and aluminum […]
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With 13 million inside Syria needing aid, UN Relief Chief says impact of crisis remains ‘profound’
30 October 2017 – The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or D’aesh) may be largely pushed out of Syria’s Raqqa governorate, but after years of oppression and nearly a year of intense fighting – marked recently by heavy airstrikes – humanitarian needs will continue to be large for some time, the top […]
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Suffer of 350,000 civilians in rural Damascus ‘an outrage’ – UN Rights Chief
27 October 2017 – The United Nations human rights chief on Friday called on the parties to the conflict in Syria to allow badly needed food and medical supplies to Eastern Ghouta in rural Damascus, describing the situation of at least 350,000 besieged civilians there as “an outrage.” “The shocking images of what appear to […]
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Dire lack of winter funding puts millions of refugees in Middle East at risk
3 October 2017 – Dwindling resources could severely jeopardize efforts to provide refugees and displaced persons across the Middle East with essential winter supplies such as thermal blankets and warm clothing, the United Nations refugee agency has warned. For many it will be the seventh consecutive winter in displacement, living in tents or in makeshift […]
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Syria’s war has deadliest month this year
September has been the deadliest month in Syria’s civil war so far this year, a monitoring group has said. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said more than 3,300 people had died in September, including 995 civilians. Of those civilian deaths, it said about 70% were caused by Russian, Syrian government, or coalition […]
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Hundreds of thousands trapped in Mosul with ‘worst yet to come’ – UN AGENCY
24 March 2017 – An estimated 400,000 Iraqi civilians are trapped in Mosul’s Old City as fighting intensifies and people continue to flee, the United Nations refugee agency representative today warned. “The worst is yet to come,” said Bruno Geddo, the Representative of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Iraq. Speaking by phone, Mr. Geddo […]
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Syria ‘worst man-made disaster since World War II’ – UN Rights Chief
14 March 2017 – The conflict in Syria is the “worst man-made disaster the world has seen since World War II,” the United Nations human rights chief today said, calling for an end to all tortures, executions and unfair trials, and at the very least, for the names and localities of people held in detention […]
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‘Unprecedented suffering’ for Syrian children in 2016 – UNICEF
13 March 2017 – The suffering of children in war-torn Syria “hit rock bottom” in 2016 with the highest number of grave violations against them since verification began in 2014, underscored the United Nations children’s agency urging all parties to the conflict, those who have influence over them, and anyone who cared about children to […]
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