Under Pressure: Lebanon and Turkey need more support to address Syrian refugee crisis

he Syrian refugee populations in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey all face significant challenges. Thousands of people leave Syria for these countries every day, but once safely across the border there is no guarantee of finding adequate support for day-to-day needs such as shelter, food, or healthcare. Longer-term assistance, including education and psychosocial care, is still in the developing stages more than two years into the crisis, and it is sometimes neglected in deference to more immediate needs as the emergency grows.

Daryl Grisgraber and Marc Hanson from Refugee International (RI) travelled to Turkey and Lebanon in August 2013, as RI' fifth mission related to the Syrian refugee emergency. This mission focused on refugees living outside of camps in Lebanon and Turkey. Due to security conditions, the researchers were unable to enter Syria. The RI team visited Beirut and the western Beqa’a Valley in Lebanon, and in Turkey they travelled to Gaziantep, Adana, Antakya, Reyhanli, and Kirikhan. The team held meetings with Syrian refugees, local populations and service providers, international NGOs, UN agencies, and government officials.