What had started as a protest against the regime of President Basharul Asad in Syria in March 2011 under the impetus of the so called Arab Spring, has turned into bloody civil war in the country during the past two years and the direct and indirect involvement of some countries of the region as well as active interest of the global powers, has kept this war going.

What must concern every one irrespective of ones political views, is the appalling cost of this conflict in terms of human suffering it has been causing. According to the UN figures the number of Syrian refugees who have fled the country because of this war is nearing two million. Women and children have been worst victims of this war. The children alone who have sought refuge in the countries of the region now number one million.

To quote the UN again, up to mid-August one million children had fled the war-torn country while another two million had been forced from their homes and made refugees in their own country since the start of the conflict. Marking the one millionth children to become refugee, Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, told reporters in Geneva, “we are not here to celebrate any good news but to mark another tragic milestone in the dramatic Syrian crisis.” One million is more than the children living in Wales, it is more than the number of children living in Los Angeles and Boston combined, he pointed out.

Mr. Guterres pointed out that Syria’s pre-war population of children was nine million around half of whom are either refugees, displaced or living in war zones. “That means Syria is facing the enormous risk of a lost generation”, he said.

These children besides the trauma of fleeing their homes and witnessing death and destruction face food shortages and miss out on their education.

The other big victims of the war are women. Almost as many women of all ages have been uprooted from their hearths and homes and made refugees by this war in their country. They have been living in tents and other temporary shelters in the neighboring countries like Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt facing an uncertain future. Though all the countries, especially Turkey have been doing their best to provide succor and shelter to the refugees, the main international agencies which have been most active in helping them are the UNHCR and the UNESCO. However, considering the enormity of the problem, the Arab and Muslim countries should also come forward collectively to help in facilitating the refugees and finding a solution of the conflict in Syria to put an end to this human misery. Both the parties, particularly the government leadership must be made to realize the huge damage that the conflict has done to the Syrian people. It is high time that the Arab League or the OIC also come to the rescue of the Syrian people and play their role in restoring peace in the country.

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