For more detailed information on the U.S. Government’s response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria, visit: www.usaid.gov/crisis/syria

DEARBORN — On Sept. 12, Secretary of State John Kerry announced the United States would provide nearly $500 million in additional humanitarian aid to help Syrian crisis victims. The funding brings the total cost of humanitarian aid the U.S. has spent to assist victims of the Syrian conflict to more than $2.9 billion. 

The latest funding comes in response to the largest appeal the United Nations has ever issued to address the Syrian humanitarian situation. Despite the assistance of the United States and other countries, aid to address the crisis is still underfunded, according to the State Department.

In an interview with The Arab American News, Anne C. Richard, the U.S. Department of State’s assistant secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration, confirmed the United States remains the single largest donor of humanitarian aid for those affected by the Syria crisis. 

Richard is pushing to get other countries to assist with providing humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees. She said some of the leading donors of humanitarian aid for the crisis include the European Union, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. 

The United Nations called the Syrian crisis the worst humanitarian disaster since the Cold War. 

“I do think these are very dangerous times,” Richard said. During a visit to metro Detroit in April of last year she called the crisis “a tragedy of immense proportion.” 

During that visit, Richard attended an event hosted by the Syrian American Alliance, where she encouraged local Syrian Americans to raise money for victims of the crisis in their homeland. 

She also met with officials from the Chaldean Federation of America and visited Lutheran Social Services in Troy to meet with U.S. Rep. Sandy Levin (D-MI) and a number of recently resettled refugees.  

The Arab American community has been divided over those who support the current Syrian government and those in favor of the opposition. Human Rights Watch has accused both sides of crimes against humanity. 

The announcement of the new humanitarian aid funding for victims of the Syrian crisis came more than a week before the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates launched airstrikes in Syria targeting the “Islamic State’s” (IS) strongholds in the country. 

The U.S. Senate recently approved President Obama’s request to arm and train Syrian rebels as a strategy to defeat the IS. 

Richard pointed out that while a time frame as to when the conflict will end remains uncertain, it would take a long period for victims to recover from the destruction and get their lives back together. 

“If peace were to suddenly arrive, it could take some time,” she said. 

Following this month’s UN General Assembly meeting in New York, the international community is preparing for the Syria donors’ conference in Kuwait in October. The $500 million contribution could encourage other nations to step up humanitarian aid efforts. 

During Richard’s visit to Detroit last year, she explained that 4 million people were displaced in Syria and that 1.3 million refugees had fled the country. Those figures have changed drastically since then. 

At that time, the United States had provided nearly $385 million in humanitarian assistance to distribute resources, such as food, shelter and household supplies, to victims of the crisis.  

More than half of Syria’s population has been forced to flee their homes. Nearly 6.5 million civilians have been displaced within the country; and the UN estimates that nearly 11 million Syrians are in need of aid and face threats, displacement, hunger, injury, and death. 

By late August, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had registered more than 3 million refugees from Syria in Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt, with several hundred thousand more who have yet to be registered. 

Throughout the Syrian crisis, a great deal of concern has continuously emerged regarding whether the future of religious minorities would be threatened if the opposition came to power. The international community has warned that the removal of Syria’s government would make minorities vulnerable to the same persecution that Christians in Iraq faced, following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that led to the ouster of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. 

 “Our goal is to see a region where they can remain,” Richard said, noting that the concern has been brought to her attention.  “The United States government wants to protect everyone in the region.”  

With this new funding, the United States has provided more than $1.4 billion in humanitarian aid for those in need within Syria and more than $1.4 billion for refugees and host communities in the region since the crisis began. 

U.S. humanitarian assistance is saving lives in Syria and in the countries of Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey which are generously hosting Syrian refugees.  More than $240 million of the nearly $500 million in humanitarian aid will help those affected by the conflict in Syria, including Palestinians. More than $130 million of the aid directed inside Syria will be provided through non-governmental organizations providing much-needed materials to prepare for winter, medical care, food, water, shelter, psychosocial support and other critical aid.  The remaining amount, more than $250 million, will assist refugees and host communities in the neighboring countries affected by the crisis.

During her visit last year, Richard addressed concerns by some people in the community who are worried humanitarian aid could get in the hands of the Syrian government; and she told The Arab American News that U.N. agencies are doing a good job at getting the humanitarian aid to non-governmental organizations. 

“It’s very much a concern…we paid very careful attention to that,” she said. 

While the United States has provided financial support to aid rebels, humanitarian aid goes solely to assist victims of the crisis and is entirely separate, according to a public affairs advisor for the state department.  

Last year, the U.S. government announced that it would double aid to Syrian rebels by providing $123 million in non-lethal assistance. The Obama administration has been criticized over concerns that American tax-dollars could be used to aid Syrian rebels who are not moderate. 

Richard has traveled to refugee camps in the Arab World and met with Syrian refugees. She remembered one woman in Iraq who was walking around a refugee camp in the Winter wearing flip flops while it was cold and muddy; and as a mother herself, Richard was touched by the refugee who had given birth only two weeks earlier. 

She has also spoken with concerned Syrian Americans around the country who have been eager about speaking to her regarding the crisis.  

“Our message is getting out there that we care,” she said. 

Americans around the country are very critical about the foreign aid being given to other countries. At one protest against Western intervention in Syria in Dearborn in August 2013, demonstrators asked the U.S. government to focus on Detroit’s bankruptcy.  

In July, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department said about half of the 324,000 water and sewerage accounts have outstanding balances that were past due and about 46,000 notices were issued. Around 4,500 accounts have had their water shut-off. The UN Human Rights Council received formal allegations that the Detroit water shut-off threatens to violate U.N.-established human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation mandates.

Richard is familiar with the concerns about why the government doesn’t do more for the people of this country. 

“We are a great nation, and we need to do both,” she said of help at home and abroad. She added that as a world leader, the United States should concern itself with the welfare of other nations. 

“One percent of the federal budget goes to foreign aid,” she said. “It is not a major part of the U.S. federal budget.” 

She emphasized the need for Syrians to stay engaged in the crisis. 

“Stay engaged and keep talking to us in Washington about the need to care for the situation,” she said.