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LEBANON / SYRIA REFUGEES
STORY: LEBANON / SYRIAN REFUGEES
TRT: 2.14
SOURCE: WFP
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 26-27 JUNE 2012, BEKAA VALLEY / ARSAL / CHTOURA, LEBANON
26-27 JUNE 2012, BEKAA VALLEY, LEBANON
1. Various shots, Syrian border area where thousands of refugees mostly from Homs area in Syria have crossed into Lebanon
27 JUNE 2012, NEAR ARSAL, LEBANON
2. Various shots, Syrian refugee families living in tents outside Abul Ismail Al-Houjairi mosque
26-27 JUNE 2012, ARSAL, LEBANON
3. Various shots, Rima and her family
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Rima, mother of five from Homs, Syria:
“We heard gun shots and bombs exploding so, we started running as fast as we could. I was afraid for the children.”
5. Various shots, new refugees arriving in Lebanon being registered by UNHCR and given WFP food vouchers
6. Various shots, Fatimah receiving a monthly WFP voucher
7. Various shots, Fatimah with her family buying vegetables and eggs
8. Med shot, Fatimah stirring a pot
SOUNDUP (Arabic) Fatimah, mother of four from near Homs, Syria:
"We didn’t bring anything with us, we left with just the clothes we had on."
27 JUNE 2012, CHTOURA, LEBANON
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Laure Chadraoui, WFP Spokesperson:
“The World Food Program is using vouchers here in Lebaon to assist the Syrian refugees. This is also an innovative system that helps the local economy and alleviates the burden on the local host communities.”
27 JUNE 2012, ARSAL, LEBANON
10. Various shots, Fatimah’s family eating
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced today (28 June) that it has begun distributing food vouchers to Syrian refugees in Lebanon as part of a regional emergency operation to support 120,000 Syrians fleeing unrest in their country.
Recent joint needs assessments showed that food is a priority need for Syrians in Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. Many of them left with few assets and little cash and have now depleted their savings. They are increasingly dependent on host communities and humanitarian assistance.
WFP’s operation, aligned with the United Nations regional response plan, will help meet the refugees’ immediate food needs using an innovative food voucher system.
Rima fled Homs in March 2012 with five children when rockets destroyed her house. They crossed the border on foot with only the clothes on their backs. She is living in a house under construction with another refugee family. Her children say they miss their school and friends back home.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Rima, mother of five from Homs, Syria:
“We heard gun shots and bombs exploding so, we started running as fast as we could. I was afraid for the children.”
WFP will reach 27,000 refugees in Lebanon by the end of July with plans to scale up the voucher programme to reach a total of 40,000 people before the end of the year.
Beneficiaries can use WFP vouchers to buy their own food from local shops, choosing from a varied food list including fresh produce, dairy products and eggs, which are not normally included in food rations. WFP often uses vouchers when food is available in the market but people do not have enough money to buy it.
Fatimah from near Homs escaped in February 2012 with four children, leaving her husband behind. She receives a monthly voucher from WFP to buy food in local Lebanese shops.
SOUNDUP (Arabic) Fatimah, mother of four from Homs, Syria:
"We didn’t bring anything with us, we left with just the clothes we had on.”
SOUNDBITE (English) Laure Chadraoui, WFP Spokesperson:
“The World Food Program is using vouchers here in Lebanon to assist the Syrian refugees. This is also an innovative system that helps the local economy and alleviates the burden on the local host communities.”
UN humanitarian agencies and partner organizations appealed today (28 June) for 193 million US dollars to help support the growing number of Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries. WFP needs 23.8 million US dollars to cover the food requirements of refugees over the next six months as part of this joint appeal.
Humanitarian agencies have been registering an average of over 500 Syrian refugees a day in neighbouring countries during the last three months. Areas from which high numbers of people have left include the cities of Homs, Hama and Idleb.
In Syria itself WFP has scaled up its operations to reach half a million people in need of food assistance and is preparing to further expand operations in July to reach 850,000 people, following an agreement between the UN and the Syrian government to allow more access to areas affected by the on-going conflict.
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