Oxfam 'Ambassador' Urges More Aid for Syria Refugees
Mexican actor and Oxfam global ambassador Gael Garcia Bernal urged the world on Tuesday to do more to help Syrian refugees as he visited some of them in Jordan.
"Aid is essential for these people. There's not enough coming, despite the promises from the international community," an Oxfam statement quoted Garcia as saying during his visit on the outskirts of Amman.
"And, more importantly, the people I met want peace. They want to return to their home country to rebuild their future. It's time to put our money where our mouth is and help these people, whose only dream is to return to life in their own country."
More than 1.8 million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries. Most have gone to Lebanon, which hosts more than 600,000 refugees, while more than 500,000 are in Jordan.
"In a few days' time, the number of Syrian refugees will reach the two million mark. I have met a few of them in Jordan, with Oxfam, where they are struggling to live with dignity using the few resources available to them," Garcia said.
"I've met families living in crammed rented houses and tents where they struggle to make ends meet."
The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said last week that Syrians who flee their war-torn country face recruitment as child soldiers, sexual violence and exploitation for labor.
"The number of refugees who have fled Syria climbs each day. This crisis is on a staggering scale. There is no more time to lose,"
The conflict in Syria has killed more than 100,000 people.
Source: Agence France Presse
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