Middle East & North Africa

Escape from Syria, safe haven in Jordan

Escape from Syria, safe haven in Jordan

More than a million Syrian refugees have fled the conflict in their country. Half of them have gone to Jordan, where they mostly live side by side with Jordanians in towns and cities. They arrive with nothing, often suffering from trauma and health problems. Caritas members around the world are supporting Caritas Jordan to provide ...

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Life after Syria’s battlefields

“If you didn’t die from the bombs, you died from hunger.” Abdul Baset Al Buquai had little choice but to leave Syria. His family lived in Baba Amr, a suburb of the city of Homs. It had become the centre of opposition to the government and was levelled in a military offensive last spring. His ...

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Syrian crisis through the eyes of its refugees

Syrian crisis through the eyes of its refugees

By Patrick Nicholson “Each Syrian you meet will tell you a different story; but they are all the same tragedy,” said Fawaz, a refugee who crossed into Jordan last month. Since the conflict began two years ago in Syria, its cities have been devastated, its people go hungry, living in fear, 70,000 are dead and ...

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Exodus of Syrian refugees to Jordan

Exodus of Syrian refugees to Jordan

“This is a nightmare. We will wake up soon to find ourselves in our beloved Syria,” said Ismail Ahmad Al Ajrab, a 30 year old refugee from the Syrian city of Homs. “I feel sometimes that this is all just a dream, but then the difficulties hit you and I know it is our reality ...

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Caritas on alert as Syria crisis gets worse

Caritas on alert as Syria crisis gets worse

Caritas teams in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey are providing humanitarian aid to over 100,000 people affected by the escalating Syrian conflict. Caritas has launched international appeals for all four countries, which combined total €5 million. (Read: Overwhelming humanitarian crisis within Syria) Conditions for ordinary people in Syria are deteriorating rapidly with a lack of food ...

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Caritas response to crisis in Syria

Caritas response to crisis in Syria

Violence in Syria has left tens of thousands of people dead and more than 2,5 million people in need of urgent aid. Caritas teams in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey are providing humanitarian aid to over 100,000 people. Caritas has launched appeals totalling 5 million Euro to help them.

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Overwhelming humanitarian crisis within Syria

Overwhelming humanitarian crisis within Syria

Under a blanket given by Caritas, a mother and child try to keep out the freezing cold temperatures and snow as they sleep out in the open in one of the parks of the Syrian capital Damascus. They are just two of 1.5 million people forced from their homes during the country’s civil war. Tens ...

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Death of a housemaid: the tragedy of Rizana Nafeek

Death of a housemaid: the tragedy of Rizana Nafeek

Caritas Sri Lanka Director Fr George Sigamoney says he is deeply upset by the execution of Sri Lankan housemaid Rizana Nafeek in Saudi Arabia on 9 January. Caritas had fought for her release since she was sentenced in 2007 to beheading for strangling a baby she was looking after as a nanny in 2005. Rizana ...

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Caritas Lebanon helping evacuate migrant workers from Syria

Caritas Lebanon helping evacuate migrant workers from Syria

Caritas Lebanon will assist in the evacuation of another group of Filipino refugees who are fleeing the war in Syria in a bid to return home. Caritas Lebanon Migrants Centre social workers will await the group of 40 migrants on the Lebanon-Syria border on Sunday to help facilitate their repatriation before taking them to the ...

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Pope Benedict calls for Syrian ceasefire

Pope Benedict calls for Syrian ceasefire

Pope Benedict has called for a ceasefire in Syria and for the international community to engage in a constructive dialogue. In an address to the Holy See’s diplomatic corps, Pope Benedict called on diplomats “to resolve the numerous conflicts causing bloodshed in our human family, beginning with that privileged region in God’s plan, the Middle ...

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