March 16, 2015 – Our Weekly Selection
A dozen articles on Syria as it enters its fifth year after the beginning of the uprising.
Syria four years on: No end in sight: “Mapping the situation for internally displaced Syrians and refugees after four years of civil war.”
Mortgaging Syria’s future: “Four years after their cry for change, Syria’s poorest people have only become more fragile and distressed.”
Doctors in the Crosshairs: Four Years of Attacks on Health Care in Syria: “The Syrian government is responsible for 88 percent of the recorded hospital attacks and 97 percent of medical personnel killings, with 139 deaths directly attributed to torture or execution.”
Millions Pledged to Relieve Besieged Areas : “The campaign’s $2.5 million budget will be used to serve food security, health, infrastructure and education sectors.”
Syrian crisis: health experts say more can be done: “As the Syrian confl ict enters its fifth year this month, doctors and public health experts highlight the major health problems and the actions needed to address them.”
Hundreds of medical workers have been killed in Syria, almost wiping out health care: “The brain drain of Syrian doctors … is one of the worst untold stories of the crisis.”
UNHCR warns of bleaker future for refugees as Syrian conflict enters 5th year: “With no political solution to the conflict in sight, most of the 3.9 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt see no prospect of returning home in the near future, and have scant opportunity to restart their lives in exile.”
Birth Registration in Turkey: Preventing Statelessness of Syrian Children: “Plenty of Syrians in all the neighboring host countries remain unregistered themselves—either by choice or because of circumstances. As a result, their children may also go unrecognized by any formal registration system. What is the future for children whose births have not been registered and therefore have no documentation of their Syrian heritage?”
Global warming contributed to Syria’s 2011 uprising, scientists claim: “US study claims regime’s unsustainable agricultural policies meant drought led to collapse of farming in north-eastern region and triggered mass migration to cities and added to feelings of discontent.”
Aid agencies slam UN Security Council over Syria: “More than 20 organisations say Security Council has failed to implement resolutions seeking to boost humanitarian aid.”
Satellite Photos Show Most of Syria Without Lights: “Scientists analyzed nighttime satellite images and found that 83% of lights had gone out.”
Syria’s housing crisis widens social gap: “Rental rates have risen as a result of the growing demand, and they continue to rise amid a general inflation in prices and a decline in value of the Syrian pound. Rental rates increased by between 30% and 50% during the month of January 2015 alone.”