More than 2 million Syrians are refugees compared to 230,671 a year ago, according to the United Nation’s Refugee Agency.
“More than 97 percent of Syria’s refugees are hosted by countries in the immediate surrounding region, placing an overwhelming burden on their infrastructures, economies and societies. They urgently need massive international support to help them deal with the crisis,” the U.N. agency reported.
On average, some 5,000 refugees flee Syria each day.
“Syria has become the great tragedy of this century – a disgraceful humanitarian calamity with suffering and displacement unparalleled in recent history,” said António Guterres, the U.N.’s High Commissioner for Refugees.
According to CNN, four nations host the greatest number of Syrian refugees: Lebanon (716,000), Jordan (515,000), Turkey (460,000) and Iraq (168,000).
The U.N. projects that 4.25 million people are displaced inside Syria.
A number of Christian organizations are responding to the overwhelming humanitarian crisis, including Baptist World Aid, which released $20,000 in August to provide food and medical supplies to 150 Syrian families.
Tearfund, a British evangelical organization, has partnered with groups in Lebanon and Jordan to supply food and hygiene packets.
Other Christian relief organizations seeking to provide aid to Syrian refugees include World Vision, Catholic Relief Services and Lutheran World Relief.
World Vision recently urged international leaders “to push forward with a peace offensive” seeking a negotiated cease-fire, having noted that relief efforts have stretched resources to the limit in early August.
Catholic Relief Services has partnered with Caritas Jordan to offer education to refugee children; Lutheran World Relief is working to provide quilts to refugees in southern Lebanon in preparation for winter.
