(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
They spend their time, care and dedication to helping other Syrians in desperate need. They have chosen to stay again when others have fled. Right now, volunteer Syrians are running the world's largest relief operation. They distribute food, provide first aid and repair water supplies, and they cross the front lines to help.
Neutrality as a tool. But how does relief work happen in the midst of this cruel civil war?
Neutrality is a prerequisite for conducting emergency work in the midst of a war. But neutrality is not something you can claim, it has to be proven every day and in all situations. It takes time to demonstrate neutrality in practice.
Access to humanitarian aid for the most vulnerable is our biggest challenge as a humanitarian actor in Syria. In several places – for example in Aleppo – the Syrian Red Crescent works daily across the front lines. But other areas are harder to reach. 480 Syrians live under siege, and are without regular access to humanitarian aid.
Relief workers are dependent on respect, but in order to gain respect we must also respect those who need our help. Without neutrality and respect, our volunteers would not have had the confidence that is crucial to letting in between the warring parties.
The Red Cross is set to protect the Geneva Conventions, which are the rules of war. Every day we see how these rules are broken. But even if the rules are broken, we also have access to provide vital medical assistance and relief supplies to millions trapped in the fighting. This shows how the regulations also help to save lives. At the same time, we know that it is dangerous. To date, over 60 volunteers have been killed while on assignment to help others.
Help in besieged areas. Before the Civil War started, the Syria Red Crescent was a small organization working on health care in the local community. In five years, they have stepped up their efforts and become the largest humanitarian actor in Syria, and have become the hub of emergency relief efforts. Without the volunteers, UN operations would also be halted as more than 60 per cent of the relief the UN provides, is done by volunteers from the Red Crescent.
We have for a long time worked with the parties to the conflict to build trust and communicate our demand for humanitarian aid also to the civilian population living under siege. Since January, we have organized convoys of food, medicine and emergency aid to more than half of the 480 living in besieged areas. In Madaya, Zabadani, Foua and Kefraya, areas where we did not have access for more than a year, we have since January this year organized regular convoys, reopened health clinics and evacuated the most critically ill.
We cannot accept that those with weapons should dictate who gets health care, food or clean water.
The last time we were in these beleaguered areas was March 17th. The civilian population we meet on these missions is starved and needs medical help. As we carry out the missions, we make sure to not only deliver the relief but also talk to the civilian population to understand what humanitarian needs they have. They tell us about the need for rations. Need for specific medications. Infant formula. Now, with more regular access, we can follow up and meet those needs.
"We provide food only four million, ”says our sister association as they talk about the effort they are making. And they could have done more. 13,5 million Syrians rely on emergency relief to cope. 8,7 million need emergency food to meet their nutritional needs. The Red Cross secured clean water to over 15 million people in 2015.
Works all over Syria. Recently our sister association published its annual report last year. There is also a map of Syria. We have seen many such maps – they show the patchwork of armed groups and who controls which areas. These maps change depending on who wins terrain in the Civil War. But the map showing Syria's Red Crescent local branches is simpler. They work in all of Syria's 14 districts. They are there and they intend to stay.
I was in Syria recently and met the brave volunteers and some of those who are getting help. Bassam is a man who quickly fled Yarmouk, the Palestinian camp in Damascus. The area is now completely closed off. He said: "We used to eat meat most days of the week, but now I can only dream about it. Sometimes I tell my kids that there is meat in the food, even though it is really just beans. ” The family manages to get food from the Red Cross, but life is on hold, and his children have not attended school for the past three years.
Political relief. We now fear that relief will be a bargaining chip in Syria. This undermines international humanitarian law and will lead to even more dangerous emergency work if humanitarian aid is politicized. We cannot accept that those with weapons should dictate who gets health care, food or clean water. There are rules of war that are there to protect civilians. Territorial encroachment is illegal under international humanitarian law if it prevents civilians from meeting their basic needs.
Right now, the needs in Syria are far greater than the opportunity we have to help, even though we work across the front lines across the country. There are millions of people who do not receive the help they desperately need. It's time to put an end to this madness.
It is possible to help, even in the midst of the civil war. The emergency relief that comes in saves lives. But now world leaders must take responsibility. It's about time. The solution for Syria does not lie in humanitarian aid or military efforts. This is politics, and political problems must have political solutions. But who should get emergency help does not belong around the negotiating table!
The annual report for the Syrian Red Crescent for 2015 can be read here :
Mollekleiv is president of the Red Cross.
