UN humanitarian chief calls for urgent political solution in Syria

ANKARA

Kurdish women walk with their children in a refugee camp early in the morning in the town of Suruç on October 19, 2014. AFP Photo

The United Nations humanitarian chief has drawn attention to the gravity of the plight of Syrian refugees in Turkey, as well as the Turkish government’s struggle to meet the needs of these people, underlining the number of Syrians seeking refuge is near 1.6 million and called for an urgent political solution.

“I would like to thank the government and the people of Turkey for their generosity in welcoming Syrians seeking safety – to date, nearly 900,000 registered refugees, along with an estimated total of 1.6 million Syrians are seeking refuge here. 170,000 civilians fled Kobane into Turkey in a matter of weeks and the Turkish authorities responded immediately,” said U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, at a press conference on Oct. 20.

Amos held the press conference in the capital city of Ankara following her visit to one of the refugee camps set up in a school in the Turkish border town of Suruç over the weekend.

“Families need protection from the cold and need to live in dignity. We need continued and unhindered access for aid workers in Syria so that they can deliver the much needed assistance. The U.N. and its partners will continue to do all we can to help those in need. But there is a limit to what we can do. We can save lives. We can help to clothe, house and feed people. Provide education to children. But we cannot deliver the safety and security that people urgently crave,” Amos also said.

“Yesterday, one of the women I spoke to told me she had fled Homs to Kobane and had to leave again to Suruç. She was in tears, desperate about the future for her children. We urgently need a political solution in Syria. The world must remember the suffering of the Syrian people and act,” Amos added.