Donors in Brussels pledge €9.6 billion in aid to Syrians at home and abroad

2023-06-16 08:07:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Donors in Brussels have pledged 9.6 billion euros ($10.3 billion) in grants and loans to support the Syrian people at home and abroad.

The money was raised at the VII Brussels Conference: "Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region", held in the Belgian capital on Thursday, and is supposed to help 15 million people inside war-torn Syria, as well as neighboring countries hosting refugees, to who themselves are in a difficult economic situation.

The amount is close to what was requested by the UN, but about 500 million euros are missing.

The Assistant Secretary General of the UN, Ulrika Modéer, says that the situation in Syria and the surrounding countries affects the whole globe.

"Ten percent coverage in relation to these needs is simply not enough. This is a crisis that actually affects, of course, the people concerned, but also all the neighboring countries and the rest of the world," Modéer said in an interview with Euronea.

"We need to support the resilience of communities, basic services, the local economy in a way that enables people to support their own agency."

The money donated by the international community amounts to 4.6 billion euros for 2023 and 1 billion euros for 2024 and beyond. €3.8 billion in grants were pledged by the EU, with €2.1 billion from the European Commission and €1.7 billion pledged by EU Member States.

The rest consists of loans from international financial institutions and donors who pledged 4 billion euros.

The earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria last February has worsened the crisis, and local NGOs on the front lines say they can't cope.

1200 volunteers are trying to help young people and women.

They also run two maternity hospitals and two primary health care hospitals.

"We need flexible funds that we can mobilize and use immediately when we have a disaster. We need to maintain our emergency response capacity," Hisham Dirani, CEO of the NGO Organization Violet, told Euronews.

"The security situation, like unexpected military operations, is something that makes life more and more difficult, and we have to take a lot of measures."

Nga 6.8 milionë sirianë që u larguan nga vendi, rreth pesë milionë janë jo shumë larg shtëpisë.

Turqia priti më shumë se tre milionë refugjatë, dhe pjesa tjetër është e shpërndarë kryesisht në Liban, Jordani, Irak dhe Egjipt.

Por liderët e këtyre vendeve po flasin gjithnjë e më shumë për t'i kthyer ato në shtëpi.

Një argument është se nuk ka asnjë perspektivë për një alternativë të qëndrueshme politike ndaj regjimit, veçanërisht pasi Liga Arabe ripranoi Presidentin Assad në fillim të majit, pasi u dëbua kur filloi lufta civile në 2011.

If Syria's neighboring countries move from words to deeds and start repatriating refugees who have been waiting for more than a decade, there could be changes in migration flows. Instead of returning home, refugees may seek another safe haven, and Europe is a possible destination./ CNA