A life on hold

2017 was one of the worst years in the seven-year Syria crisis and 2018 is on track to be equally devastating for civilians. Syria witnessed shocking rates of displacement, with 3.8 million people forced to flee because of intensified fighting between government and opposition forces. Across the region, Syrian refugees remain vulnerable and pressured to return to their war-torn country. The needs on the ground are increasing at an alarming rate, and aid agencies warn they will be unable to meet them. 

Around 2.9 million people were internally displaced by violence in Syria in 2017 alone, with continued attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure like schools and hospitals. 7.3 million Syrians are living in communities reporting explosive hazards such as mines, unexploded or abandoned bombs, cluster munitions, grenades, and rockets shells.

Access to aid has been systematically compromised and denied by the warring parties inside Syria. This has deliberately harmed civilians and, in some cases, turned humanitarian workers into targets.

Across the region, 2.7 million Syrian children are still out of school. Millions of Syrians, inside and outside the country, lack legal documents and are not registered, which makes it difficult for them to access aid, education and employment.

At the same time, a report  from Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and other aid organisations from February 2018 showed that hundreds of thousands of Syrians risk being forced to return. Many of them will have to return to unsafe, explosive-ridden and devastated neighbourhoods without basic services, or to where there is still active fighting. The majority of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan live below the poverty line. Their precarious situation might lead them to return to Syria before it is safe.