THE NEED FOR REFOCUSING AMERICAN HUMANITARIAN AID IN SYRIA; Congressional Record Vol. 160, No. 43

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THE NEED FOR REFOCUSING AMERICAN HUMANITARIAN AID IN SYRIA

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HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

of florida

in the house of representatives

Friday, March 14, 2014

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the third

anniversary of the ongoing conflict in Syria. As the war stretches into

its fourth year and the regional humanitarian crisis shows little signs

of improvement,

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the United States must do more to ensure that its aid is utilized to

the greatest effect possible.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than

140,000 people, including 7,000 children, have been killed. Nearly 2.5

million refugees have fled to neighboring countries, including 1.2

million children. Within Syria, nearly seven million people have been

displaced from their homes and 19 million are in need of emergency food

support. It is projected that by the end of this year, 75 percent of

the Syrian population will need humanitarian assistance.

The civilian population inside Syria faces systematic starvation,

shelling of residential neighborhoods, government use of chemical

weapons, and threats from improvised barrel-bombs filled with

explosives and dropped by military helicopters into residential areas.

In the dozens of refugee camps now surrounding Syria, food remains

scarce, access to sanitation and clean water is limited, and diseases

like polio--on the verge of eradication worldwide--have resurfaced.

The United States has rightly pledged and contributed a combined $1.7

billion in humanitarian assistance since the start of the crisis. These

funds are critical for the Syrian people caught in the middle of the

conflict. Their survival, and indeed the future stability of the

region, hangs in the balance. As a leader in the international

community, we must ensure that these funds are used efficiently and

distributed in a manner that reaches as many people as possible.

I recently heard a story about a school in the Aleppo Province that

continued to hold classes despite the war raging around it. When the

school's funding inevitably ran out--and with international aid not

immediately available--extremists in the area also fighting the Assad

regime came forward with the resources that the school needed. In

return, they demanded that the school dispose of its moderate textbooks

for more politically-charged texts, and required the teaching of the

Koran.

Accepting assistance from extremist groups in exchange for loyalty is

a decision faced by Syrians on a daily basis. For most civilians, the

radical views expressed by the extremists are not in line with their

own moderate views. Many are simply trying to carry on with their

lives.

Organizations like the United States Agency for International

Development (USAID) have had considerable success in distributing

school materials, food, medical supplies, and vaccines. However, Syria

is a war zone, and these large-scale operations are often not equipped

to distribute materials and aid at the local level--like the school in

Aleppo--where they are needed most.

But, imagine if these organizations could know which schools had

exhausted their resources, which hospitals were in immediate danger of

running out of supplies, and which neighborhoods were being most

affected by the lack of incoming food relief. Making this process more

efficient is no small task, but it is possible. If we are to avoid

greater catastrophe in Syria, it is also necessary.

Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict, I have urged Congress and

the President's administration to increase cooperation with Syrian non-

government organizations (NGOs) to get aid where it needs to go.

Increased engagement with Syrian and Syrian-run groups is essential to

expanding assistance inside Syria and making every dollar of foreign

aid count. Syrian aid groups are now working in nearly every sector of

the humanitarian response, delivering flour to bakeries, medical

supplies to field clinics, and helping to protect refugees.

Already, USAID and other NGOs in the region rely on information and

distribution networks of local aid groups to deliver supplies to areas

most in need. Empowering these Syrian groups will make our impact on

the region even greater. These groups have the most at stake and work

at great personal expense and risk.

The Department of State and USAID should work together to establish

training, capacity building, and aid delivery partnerships with Syrian

relief organizations in order to expand their operations. With proper

oversight and strict training on the international standards governing

the delivery of aid, the United States can enable hundreds of Syrian

civilians to take greater control of their country's future while

assisting those inside Syria who are not reachable by other means.

Mr. Speaker, the United States has shown leadership in providing aid

for the humanitarian crisis in Syria, but we must do more with the

international community and Syrian refugee host nations to improve our

aid delivery systems while pressuring the Assad regime and its

supporters. As the war drags on with no end in sight, time is in fact

running out.

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