Caritas: the suffering of Syrians

(Vatican Radio) The Syrian refugee crisis is worsening as tens of thousands of people each week flee to neighbouring countries to escape the fighting in their homeland. Many of the Syrian refugees face very poor conditions in their host countries that are struggling to cope with this sudden large influx of Syrians. But what kind of experiences have these refugees come from in their war-torn homeland? And, how do they see their future?

Laura Sheahen is a communications officer for Caritas Internationalis who has just returned from a tour of Jordan and Lebanon where she met and talked to many of the Syrian refugees who are being hosted in these two countries. She told Vatican Radio's Susy Hodges more about their plight.

Listen to the extended interview with Laura Sheahen of Caritas Internationalis :

Sheahen says the refugee crisis has deteriorated dramatically in the past month and that Caritas "has been working hard to keep up with the flood of refugees ... but, she concedes, "it's been very hard on the refugees and on those who are trying to serve them." Asked about the conditions facing these refugees who have fled from Syria, she gives the example, in a worst case scenario, of a large extended family reduced to living in a makeshift tent "made up of pieces of cloth sewn together" living in an area with "absolutely nothing" in the way of facilities."

Not surprisingly, says Sheahen, this massive influx of Syrian refugees "has sparked some resentment" among the local population but on the other hand she talks of some inspirational stories of hospitality where occasionally the local people have given up part of their own house to accommodate a refugee family. As for Caritas, "we're trying to reach as many hungry people as we can", Sheahen explains.

Asked about the mood of the refugees, Sheahen says they are all very frightened and wary and most of them don't want "their photos taken or to give their real names." She says "some of them have been tortured" in Syria and "they all pretty much have run for their lives." "Everyone's suffering," she continues, "no matter what religion you are, Syrians are suffering."