Skyrocket Light Project
Background
The Syrian conflict has raged on for 3 years, with no signs of abating. What began as part of the Arab Spring has quickly dissolved into an intense civil war. The secular opposition to Bashar Al-Assad is now competing with tens (possibly hundreds) of other opposition parties. These parties range from Islamic fundamentalists to human secularists. As these competing groups fight for control, the civilian population has been subjected to unspeakable harms. The government of Assad has used biological weapons against swaths of neighborhoods, and the opposition factions have installed harsh laws controlling movement and economic activity. Neighborhoods are bombed out ghost towns and shadows of their former selves, with the siege of Daraa being a clear example of such destruction.
UNHCR, the international body with authority over displaced persons, could not have anticipate the massive refugee crises that the Syrian Revolution has created. In 2011, the percolation of refugees from Syria was not a focal point in the UNHCR Global Appeal for 2013. The numbers on the report illustrate the incredible undertaking that was thrust on Jordan, UNHCR, and other aid agencies. The planning figures for total in-country refugees, from places other than Iraq, were in the hundreds.[1] The belief was that by December 2013, UNHCR would assist around 40,000 displaced Syrians.[2] The most recent updated appeal for 2013 has that number at 446,600 people assisted, with 432,500 of those being Syrian.[3] The budget figures tell the same story. The complete 2011 budget, which was used in 2012 to map out 2013 expenditures, shows a total of $46,620,558 spent. The updated appeal shows half of 2012’s expenditures already surpassing 65 million dollars.[4]