CAFOD appeal for Syrian refugees

Syrian Refugees

CAFOD is asking for donations to support its winter humanitarian aid work in response to the Syrian refugee crisis.

The plight of refugees has been portrayed in a moving series of portraits, 'Lost Family Portraits', by the award-winning photographer, Dario Mitidieri. CAFOD partners are supporting refugee families living in informal tent settlements in the Bekaa valley, Lebanon, only nine kilometres from the Syrian border, Mitidieri did studio-style portraits of families whose lives were shattered as they fled the conflict, with empty chairs symbolising the loved ones they had to leave behind. Each photograph reveals the desperate choices families were forced to make to reach safety.

Matthew Carter, CAFOD's Humanitarian Director, said:

"It is horrific to hear what these women, children and men have already gone through. Now they are facing winter in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, which is 5,000ft above sea level, where temperatures can fall to minus five. The hardship for families like these, who struggle daily to cope with inadequate conditions and uncertain prospects for the future, is heart-breaking.

"Money from our winter appeal will allow us to meet the humanitarian demands not only in Lebanon, but inside Syria and other neighbouring countries, as well as in Europe. When a family receives a blanket, food parcel, hygiene kit, or medical attention, dignity and a sense of hope is restored. Dario's photographs are a reminder that we need to share the stories of refugees. We see the faces of people who have fled for their lives. They are not merely statistics."

The Syria conflict is entering its sixth year and CAFOD partner, Caritas Lebanon Migrant Centre, which has been established in Lebanon since the early 1980s, has been working in the Bekka valley supporting the emergency needs of refugee families.

As temperatures plummet, people living in tents, makeshift shelters and damaged or derelict buildings are in urgent need of blankets, warm clothes and fuel for heating. Caritas Lebanon Migrant Centre Director, Bruno Atieh, said: "With no end in sight to the war and resources stretched to the limit, we are doing all that we can to keep families warm during this winter period. The money raised from CAFOD will allow us to scale up our winter emergency response work, and reach more families in desperate need."

Since the start of the conflict in Syria, in March 2011, the UN estimates more than 250,000 people have died, and the UN's Refugee Agency, UNHCR, says that more than four million people have fled Syria to neighbouring countries. Lebanon has received 1.2 million Syrian refugees - a strain on a country whose population is just 4.5 million.

Mitidieri says his photographs should act as a reminder never to forget the suffering of these families, and many more affected by the war. He said:

"The families I met have been witness to so many stories - horror stories, terrible stories - people dying, children dying, things that shouldn't be happening in 2015. I met a father who lost his wife in a bomb attack and he is left to take care of his three traumatised daughters. I saw the pain in a mother's eyes, as she talked about leaving behind her child. These stories are a reminder that we can't forget, we can't just switch off the TV and forget about it. These are real people with real stories, and that is why it's very important to keep raising the issue - look at these photographs of families, read their stories. Today it's them, tomorrow, God forbid, it could be us."

Website link to Lost Family Portraits: cafod.org.uk/lostfamilyportraits