Page 179 - A Helping Hand for Refugees

The sufferings of the Syrians struggling to survive in the fighting
and bloodshed between fragmented groups as they seek freedom and
democracy are ineffable. In the same way that they are deprived of a
free democratic life, they are also losing their lives, their children, their
homes and their belongings. Moreover, there is not the slightest sign
of any military or political solution in the near or distant future, or of
peace returning and their country being restored to its former state. U.N.

Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura says that the situation is
growing worse by the day; "I think everybody including Bashar al-Assad
and everyone else in their own heart realizes that there is no military victory
here. They may pretend, they may hope but they know that it cannot be done.
The proof is four years, 220,000 people killed, 1 million wounded." 24

In addition to the large numbers of dead and wounded, some 4
million people have had to flee the country, while 7 million are living
as internal refugees. According to the latest report by the Syrian Amer-
ican Medical Society, some 650,000 people in Syria are today living
25
under conditions of siege. More than 10,000 Syrian children have lost
their lives and thousands are fighting hunger and diseases. Many have
joined gangs or been forced to perform military service. Some 2 mil-
lion Syrian children under the age of 18 risk becoming a lost genera-
tion.

One of the places worst affected by the fighting is the Yarmouk
Refugee Camp some 10 km from the center of Damascus. Home to Pales-
tinians since 1948, the Yarmouk Camp was the largest and most devel-
oped Palestinian camp until the war.

The refugees in Yarmouk lived lives not so very different to those
of Syrian people until the war broke out. They lived quiet lives in the
camps, equipped with thousands of homes, schools, mosques, hospi-
tals, bakeries and coffee houses, as well as beauty salons for women

and Internet cafes for youngsters. But things changed very quickly
26
and very grimly for them, just like the other residents of Syria.

Adnan Oktar (Harun Yahya) 177