Emergencies

Merlijn in Syria (day five): delivering aid across frontlines

A convoy in Aleppo

©SARC – Aleppo

Merlijn Stoffels, who works for the Netherlands Red Cross, visited Syria last month. He wrote a day-by-day account of his experiences in the country, which I’ve been sharing with you all this week.

Before we leave Syria, we visit our colleagues at the International Committe of the Red Cross (ICRC). The ICRC was established 150 years ago to operate in warzones and its aid workers are trained to work in this type of situation.

As we approach, we notice a column of Red Cross vehicles in front of the door, emblazoned with logos and flags. The aid workers are busy loading the last supplies. Today, they are visiting Zakyah and Der Ghabia, where fierce fighting has been raging for the past few days. More

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Merlijn in Syria (day four): healthcare workers in danger

Syrian Arab Red Crescent healthcare volunteers in Raqqa

©SARC – Raqqa

Merlijn Stoffels, who works for the Netherlands Red Cross, visited Syria last month. He wrote a day-by-day account of his experiences in the country, which I’m sharing with you all this week.

There are traffic jams across all Damascus. Our driver tells us that most of the roads are blocked off and that all the traffic must now travel down the few streets that are still open. The cars zigzag around one another.

On our way to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent ambulance station, we narrowly avoid a cyclist and a few pedestrians. It’s a miracle all the cars are not covered in dents and scratches. One of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent doctors tells me that more and more people are choosing to cycle to work.

The volunteers at the ambulance station tell us that the situation has changed completely since our visit in 2012. Back then, ambulance crews still drove back and forth to surrounding cities – like Homs and Idlib – to help their colleagues when there were too many wounded. But, because of the large number of roadblocks, this is no longer possible. From this crisis centre, the ambulances now only serve Damascus and its suburbs – and they have their hands full doing this. More

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Merlijn in Syria (day three): terrible conditions for displaced people

Volunteer talks to displaced children in Homs

©SARC – Homs

Merlijn Stoffels, who works for the Netherlands Red Cross, visited Syria last month. He wrote a day-by-day account of his experiences in the country, which I’m sharing with you all this week.

My day starts off early with an interview with a Dutch news programme. After such interviews, I always ask myself whether we have effectively conveyed the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe here. Today’s visits further reinforce my conviction that the crisis is much greater than we first thought.

The conflict has now affected virtually every Syrian, both rich and poor. Everyone has their own story to tell about dead and wounded family members, losing their homes and jobs, or spiralling inflation. Since the start of the conflict, food prices have tripled. More

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Merlijn in Syria (day two): aid cannot match the scale of the need

Merlijn talks to volunteers in a Red Crescent ambulance

©NRC

Merlijn Stoffels, who works for the Netherlands Red Cross, visited Syria last month. He wrote a day-by-day account of his experiences in the country, which I’m sharing with you all this week.

Surprisingly, the breakfast hall is empty and its tables are dusty. I ask the reception staff why and they tell me that there are simply too few guests to serve a buffet. We walk to the offices of the Red Cross. Even on foot, we have to prove our identity at the roadblocks.

We visit a medical clinic, an ambulance station, a Syrian Arab Red Crescent distribution centre and a relief centre. Our conversations with Syrian Arab Red Crescent staff and volunteers show just how motivated they are. Most of the volunteers endure 12-hour working days, and only the medical aid volunteers are restricted to a maximum of eight hours. They work under tough conditions driving ambulances to areas of conflict to help the victims of the violence.

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Practice makes perfect: How I prepared for a major emergency

 

A fireman comforts an injured woman

© Joy Clift-Hill/BRC

British Red Cross operations director Joy Clift-Hill helps people prepare for emergencies. She shares her experiences of Exercise Georgiana, a simulation that saw the Red Cross and other organisations rehearse what they would do in a disaster.

The adrenaline rush I get when called out to an emergency surprises me every time. After 35 years of responding to emergency situations – first in the health service as a ward sister and nurse manager and now as an operations director of the British Red Cross – that injection of adrenaline enables you to function at a very different level.

Exercise Georgiana was no exception. It was played in real time – and the reputation and expectations of the British Red Cross were on the line. 

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Merlijn in Syria (day one): Damascus is devastated by conflict

Merlijn interviews a Syrian woman

©NRC

Merlijn Stoffels, who works for the Netherlands Red Cross, visited Syria last month. He wrote a day-by-day account of his experiences in the country, which I’ll be sharing with you all this week.

It is now one year since I last visited Syria. At the time, the huge contrast between the local hospitality and the brutality of the violence struck me to the core. The motivation of the 10,000 Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteers and staff also left a deep impression. I wonder whether any of the silent strength of the troubled population of this beautiful country remains.

This morning, we depart from a chilly and rainy Beirut in Lebanon. We follow a stunning route through high mountains and have to remind ourselves that we are on the way to a country ravaged by a horrific conflict.

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Photo gallery: our Disaster Fund helps people in crisis

Our Disaster Fund helps us respond to disasters as soon as we’re needed, anywhere in the world. Above, you can see photos from recent disasters in the Central African Republic, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Burundi and the Philippines – just some of the places where our Disaster Fund has helped people in crisis.

In food crises, floods, typhoons and conflicts, you can see how your donations have helped the Red Cross provide support when people needed it most. More

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Syria conflict: volunteers work in memory of the 20 killed

 

Damage to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent's garage in Homs

© SARC – Homs

This is an edited version of an Italian article by Tommaso Della Longa – a member of the Italian Red Cross – in Damascus.

“A few days ago, we intervened to rescue some injured people. Everything was going well, when the situation suddenly deteriorated into an exchange of fire. We found ourselves caught up in the middle for three hours, with no protection except for the emblem.” The person speaking is a 24-year-old university student, who is also a volunteer with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.

There is no fear in his voice and he is calm. He and the other members of his team know they must do what they are doing. “Otherwise,” they say, “who would do it?” More

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