Aid workers tell Duke of ‘grim’ picture in Syria
THE Duke of Cambridge said he felt “totally overwhelmed” by the scale of the burden aid workers in Syria are facing, after meeting a group supported by British donations.
Prince William, 38, joined a video call with three Syrian aid workers, who are supported by the Disasters Emergency Committee’s coronavirus appeal, to hear about the impact donations by the British public totalling £38 million have had on the ground.
He was told that all six of the fragile states where the money was being directed faced “potential catastrophe” this year, with “no end in sight” for the crisis in Syria after a decade of war.
The Duke’s concern for the scale of the crisis came after he acknowledged on Friday night that mental health was a “complex” subject and one “very close” to his heart.
He has previously spoken about how the “raw emotion” he experienced while working as an air ambulance pilot had built up inside him to such an extent that he knew it would “take its toll and be a real problem” if he did not speak about it.
Fadi Hallisso, 42, from Aleppo, told the Duke how he had founded an organisation called Darna, which has used DEC funds to build lavatories and sanitation systems in many of the informal camps in Syria.
The Duke asked him about the daily challenges faced by aid workers.
“The situation in Syria is very grim,” Mr Hallisso replied, describing how 10 years of destruction had wreaked havoc, particularly in the Idlib province in the north-west, which is now home to millions of people who have been forced to flee other areas. “It is overpopulated, overcrowded,” he added. “Only 65 per cent of the hospitals are still functioning.
“The infrastructure is not able to service all of these people. Many hundreds of thousands of fellow Syrians are living outdoors in makeshift tents.
“The economic situation also is deteriorating very fast. The deflation of the Syrian pound is reducing the purchase power of every Syrian.”
Mr Hallisso said the pandemic had exacerbated the situation.
“People are often left with one of two choices, either to die out of hunger, if they stay at home, or to risk their life if
they go out and try to work and bring food to their families,” he explained.
The Duke looked grimfaced as he listened to Mr Hallisso describing how deaths were rising and hospitals were overwhelmed.
He said he was “amazed” that £38 million had been raised in the UK, particularly during a pandemic. “I’m not sure the wider British population realise how much has been given,” he added.
The appeal, which was launched last July and remains open, has been used to assist refugees and displaced people in Yemen, Syria, Somalia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan.