You don’t need to be a top official at the Department of State to make a positive impact on the lives of those in Syria.
One way that the GW community can help these Syrians is by participating in the Syrian meals campaign, recently launched by the Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees (MFA).
As a gift for raising $1000 or more MFA will send you, or your organization, a custom-made mosaic made by Syrian refugee artists in Turkey.
To claim the gift, competitors are instructed to inbox MFA when they reach the $1000 goal with a list of names of those who helped them raise the funds.
Once the mosaic is finalized it can be expected to arrive in 3-4 weeks.
Think of your what your life as a Gen Y would be if you were faced with insurmountable hunger on top of a raging pandemic. Yet, young people and others in war torn Syria faced staggering problems like this on a daily.
The COVID-19 pandemic has complicated lives and cut off the income of so many. Now more than ever it is imperative that the GW community support vulnerable populations such as displaced Syrians.
COVID-19 has only made fleeing the conflict in Syria harder as countries close their borders to slow the spread of the virus.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are over 6 million Syrians who are internally displaced from their homes. This number only increases as the conflict continues. In 2019 alone 1.8 million people fled their homes and chose to remain inside the country. According to the World Food Program (WFP), 80% of those who have been displaced internally are women and children.
The current economic recession has also reduced the flow of funds sent from friends and family abroad. This along with closed borders and high inflation has resulted in conditions that could lead to an inescapable famine. In the Idlib Governate in northern Syria, food prices have already increased a staggering 120% in the last year.
Food shortages are the result in part to the reduction in agricultural production due in part to the almost decades long conflict, rampant corruption in regime held areas, increasing rates of drought, and desertification, due to the effects of climate change on top of decades of mismanagement of water distribution.
Oxfam’s recent report: “The Hunger Virus”, cites Syria as one of the hotspots for COVID-19 related hunger deaths in the coming months. The report also indicates that more people may die from COVID-19 related hunger than the virus itself.
WFP estimates that 9.3 million Syrians, or roughly half of the Syrian population is currently food insecure.
But there is a way that you can help to get food into the hands of food insecure Syrians:
Now more than ever, it is our job as members of academia to show our strength of purpose by helping Syrians facing hunger. Won’t you join the effort?
From Blog Contributor Carl Rothenhaus
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