22 Jan 2013

SYRIA / GING WRAP

After visiting some of the areas worst hit by conflict in Syria, UN Humanitarian Operations Director John Ging has warned that the situation in Syria is "getting worse", affecting millions of people who need aid to cope with the crisis that started nearly two years ago. OCHA

Posted at: January 22, 2013 6:07 pm

Duration: 03:44

Available in: SD

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STORY: SYRIA / GING WRAP
TRT: 3:44
SOURCE: OCHA
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / ARABIC /NATS

DATELINE: 22 & 19 JANUARY 2013, DAMASCUS /  19 JANUARY 2013, HOMS, SYRIA

SHOTLIST:

22 JANUARY 2013, DAMASCUS, SYRIA

1. Pan right, view of Damascus city
2. SOUNDBITE (English) John Ging, Director of Operations, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:
"The humanitarian situation in Syria is a crisis and it's getting worse, millions of people displaced, both internally and as refugees and I think the best way to characterize the situation here is that everyone here in Syria is now feeling the effects of this conflict."
3. Wide shot, view of Damascus city
4. SOUNDBITE (English) John Ging, Director of Operations, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:
"According to our best estimates there are now over two million people internally displaced. Displacement carries with it the destruction of hope, people having to flee their home - that's their sanctuary, and when you have to flee your home then you very quickly become not just physically dependent on assistance but you begin to despair."

19 JANUARY 2013, DAMASCUS, SYRIA

5. Wide shot, apartment building in Saboura suburb of Damascus
6. Various shots, family of IDPs unloading their belongings into the apartment block where they have been given a free apartment by local charity Moaz Ben Jebal
7. Various shots, Ziad Baalbaki, a volunteer with Moaz Ben Jebal, comes to the apartment building to visit a family displaced from Homs
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ziad Baalbaki, Volunteer, Moaz ben Jebal:
"The original population of our community was 6-7,000 people and then we received around 1,400 families - or about 8,000 new - so our population has doubled. This is just one example of an affected family but there are many more. There are 12-13 people to a room suffering from cold and a lack of food and fuel, medicines and baby formula."
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Displaced woman (asked not be named for security reasons):
"If I could have one wish, it would be to go back and live the way we used to live.
How can I explain it? Imagine if you have perfect eyesight and then suddenly you are blinded. That's exactly what it's like for someone who has lost everything - blindness."

19 JANUARY 2013, HOMS, SYRIA

10. Various shots, UN car convoy en route to Homs, Syria
11. Wide shot, Syrian army checkpoint
12. Wide shot, convoy arriving in Homs, smoke from shell fire over Baba Amr district of town
13. Various shots, destroyed section of Homs and Baba Amr
14. Various shots, some residents of Baba Amr have started returning
15. SOUND-UP (Arabic) Elderly Resident, Baba Amr:
"I haven't seen my sons for two years."
16. Med shot, destroyed car in Baba Amr
17. Various shot, streets of Baba Amr
18. Wide shot, OCHA Operations Director John Ging arriving for meeting with Governor of Homs, Ahmad Munir Mohammad
19. Various shots, meeting
20. SOUND-UP (English) John Ging, Director of Operations, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:
"Thank you for this introduction, for these words which we've all listened to and taken careful note. We want to deliver more; we want to deliver better; we want to deliver faster."

STORYLINE:

United Nations (UN) Humanitarian Operations Director John Ging has warned that the situation in Syria is "getting worse", affecting millions of people who need aid to cope with the crisis that started nearly two years ago.

"I think the best way to characterize the situation here is that everyone here in Syria is now feeling the effects of this conflict," he added after visiting people who have been displaced by the conflict in the capital city of Damascus.

Across Syria, four million people need aid, nearly one in five of the pre-crisis population of 22 million. About half of them live in the three most affected governorates – rural Damascus, Aleppo and Homs. Over two million have been displaced internally and more than 650,000 have fled across the borders into neighbouring countries.

"Displacement carries with it the destruction of hope, people having to flee their home - that's their sanctuary, and when you have to flee your home then you very quickly become not just physically dependent on assistance but you begin to despair," said Ging talking about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country.

Many families do not have adequate protection, including shelter, warm clothes and shoes, to cope with the harsh winter. Ziad Baalbaki, who volunteers with a local non-governmental organization, Moaz Ben Jebal, visited families in Damascus who are struggling in the cold. "There are 12-13 people to a room suffering from cold and a lack of food and fuel, medicines and baby formula," he said.

UN agencies and humanitarian partners have reached millions of people with life-saving aid such as food, water, shelter, medicine and winter supplies in all Governorates but insecurity, limited access and funding are affecting their work. The humanitarian community is working with the Government and the opposition to find ways to increase its presence to meet the growing needs of the Syrian people.

"If I could have one wish, it would be to go back and live the way we used to live," said a woman who had been displaced by the conflict in Damascus.

Filed under 13. - HUMANITARIAN AID AND RELIEF 13.01.00 - PROTECTION OF AND ASSISTANCE TO REFUGEES AND DISPLACED PERSONS OCHA - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC.