The Crisis in Rojava in Syria and what we can do about it

Iraqi Kurdistan is preparing for a new wave of refugees as a result of the tragic developments in northeastern Syria.

(Picture: A Kurdish family flees from the advancing Syrian army)

For days, the tragic developments in neighboring Syria have dominated all discussions and headlines in Iraqi Kurdistan as well. People are following the military conflicts and the collapse of the autonomous self-governing regions there with fear and anxiety.

It is completely unclear what the next few days will bring. Should Syrian troops also attack the Kurdish-populated core areas around Hassakah and Qamishli, we expect another influx of refugees across the border.

We all hope that this will not happen, but we are preparing nonetheless. Together with our partners from Jinda, we have participated in several coordination meetings of various NGOs in Dohuk to be able to provide emergency aid in a shared capacity.

Since more than ten years, we have been working with the camps in the region where Syrian Kurdish refugees live. Especially in Domiz, we have supported countless projects and maintain a very close relationship with the residents and the management. That’s why we were contacted to see if we could help them in this difficult situation.

(Picture: Jinda’s playbus team in a camp for refugees)

Since children are especially feeling the enormous stress right now, Jinda has quickly adapted his mobile play bus project and will be there for the children of the camp with fun and games over the next few days.

As we said, we all hope that the situation in Syria will calm down, but we are prepared for an emergency. However, in order to help the refugees in the camps now, and later, if needed, new refugees, as we would like to, we depend on your solidarity, because this catastrophe has come as a complete surprise, which is why we have hardly any financial resources available to address it.