Children Dying by Roadside as Mass Exodus From Syria's Violence Grows, Refugees Tell Save the Children
(firmenpresse) - TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 06/20/13 -- Children are dying by the roadside as growing numbers of desperate families flee Syria's bloody civil war, refugees have told Save the Children.
The aid agency spoke to civilians who have recently fled the country who told of a 'death journey' on which children were separated from their parents, with at least one 12 year-old boy being left behind to die on his own after his mother was killed and he became too weak to continue the journey due to shrapnel wounds.
Another family reported the death of a baby who died in the heat after being separated from her mother as they fled across the border. The charity also received reports of children being targeted by sniper fire, forced to take flight under heavy shelling and driven to licking moisture from grass and leaves in a desperate attempt to stave off thirst in the searing heat.
The reports, gathered by Save the Children ahead of World Refugee Day, paint a disturbing picture of the desperation and horror faced by Syrian children as they seek to escape the violence in the country. Some of the most graphic reports include:
There are currently 1.6 million people from Syria in need of refugee assistance in Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt. Syria's one millionth refugee only crossed the border in March - two full years after the crisis took hold. The number of registered refugees has increased 17-fold in the past 12 months and the two millionth refugee is expected to arrive this summer.
The number of people in need of refugee assistance from Syria has increased on average by close to a third each month for the past year. Were that trend to continue, Syria would be emptied of civilians by as early as April 2014.
Save the Children President and CEO, Patricia Erb, said: "The horrific stories we've gathered from refugees over the past few days show how children are bearing the brunt of the Syrian conflict. Children in Syria are being killed, tortured, recruited as soldiers and abused in horrifying numbers. Children are being separated from their parents, and some are dying alone at the roadside from their wounds.
"Meanwhile conditions are proving too much for the weakest and most vulnerable babies. Millions of children are beyond the reach of humanitarian aid and have no option but to flee. Over half of all Syrian refugees are children and behind the frankly terrifying statistics of civilians fleeing their country are millions of individual tragedies.
"Ultimately the only solution to this crisis is an end to the violence in Syria, but in the meantime, we urgently need to be able to reach those trapped inside Syria. Unless we can, I am afraid we will hear more horrifying stories of children forced into ever more desperate circumstances."
Children inside Syria are especially vulnerable to the worst atrocities of the crisis. Those who manage to escape often lack access to schools and safe places to play and are frequently living in cramped, overcrowded conditions.
As well as working with refugee communities in Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, Save the Children is working across Syria to bring vital humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable communities. However, due to restrictions posed by a lack of access, it is currently only reaching 10 percent of those people we aim to inside the country itself.
Notes to Editors:
About Save the Children
Save the Children is the world's leading independent organization for children, delivering programs and improving children's lives in 120 countries worldwide. Working toward a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation, Save the Children's mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives. Learn more at and .
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Save the Children press office:
Bryna Jones
(416) 221-5501 x222
Cell: (647) 273-7134
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Datum: 19.06.2013 - 22:01 Uhr
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