US official on Syria: 'half the population is suffering'
US Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Anne Richard discusses the Syrian humanitarian crisis with Al-Monitor.
Overwhelmed by refugees, Jordan is limiting the Syrian influx to a few hundred a day, while Turkey — a proud aid donor — is beginning to accept international help, said US Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Ann Richard.
In an interview with Al-Monitor, Richard, a former executive with the International Rescue Committee, said she has “never seen anything of the scale and scope” of the humanitarian disaster that is Syria today.
“Half the population is suffering,” she said. “The Rwandan genocide was really horrible but lasted a month,” while the Syrian crisis “grew so fast and really snowballed.” Last year, there were 200,000 refugees. This year, they total more than 2 million. “It just goes from bad to worse,” she added.
Richard urged the international community and wealthy Middle Eastern states such as Saudi Arabia to increase support for 2.2 million Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt and another 6.5 million Syrians forced from their homes within their own country, which has been wracked by civil strife for more than two years. It is important, she said, that donor states work through the United Nations and recognize international charities to make sure that aid gets to those most in need and is not diverted to extremist groups.
