OneWorld.net (U.S.)

Aid agencies alert Iraqi refugees via sms messaging: UNHCR, WFP and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent Launch the First Food Distribution Program to Iraqi Refugees

DAMASCUS, Syria, Aug 30 - An SMS campaign by mobile phones started today in Damascus to inform more than 10,000 Iraqi refugee families about the launch of the first food distribution program for Iraqi refugees in Syria.

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), the UN Refugee Agency, and the World Food Program (WFP) and will start distribution this Saturday of food aid to 33,000 Iraqi refugees in Syria, mostly women, children and the most vulnerable of Iraqi refugees.

Distribution will take place at the warehouses of the SyrianRed Crescent in the old Damascus fairground. UNHCR relieftrucks will also transport food packages to neighbourhoods where Iraqi refugees concentrate. Hundreds of volunteers worked over the last few weeks to prepare the packages for delivery to families.

The food packages consist of dry food items provided by WFP such as oil, rice and lentils and other complementary items provided by UNHCR such as sugar, cheese, canned meat, pasta, beans, cracked wheat, tea, jam, tomato paste, and canned fish.

Food rations will be distributed on monthly basis and are expected to benefit 50,000 refugees by the end of 2007. The first food ration will cover two months in anticipation of the needs of many refugee families during the upcoming fasting month of Ramadan. "Food will be provided to families who need it most. This is just the beginning. Together with the World Food Program, we hope to include all families who are in need," said Laurens Jolles, UNHCR Representative in Syria. "In addition, there will be food distribution throughout the month of Ramadan. We know food will not solve their problems but it can be one of the elements to relieve some of the hardships."

UNHCR has provided £1 million ($1.94 million) to cover the cost of complimentary food items that will cover four months of ration for 50,000 refugees. UNHCR plans to build facilities in the SARC warehouse compound and to purchase four trucks to facilitate food distribution to Iraqi refugees outside Damascus. WFP has a $2.2 million budget for the basic food package till the end of the year.

An estimated 2 million Iraqis are currently displaced within their country, while another 2 million are believed to have fled to nearby nations. The Syrian government estimates that 1.4 million Iraqis have taken refuge in Syria in the last three years. An estimated 60,000 Iraqis are fleeing their homes monthly.

In July, UNHCR doubled its special appeal for the Iraq operation to $123 million and then launched a new education appeal with UNICEF for an additional $129 million, aimed at getting 150,000 more Iraqi children in the region back to school during the 2007-2008 school year.