HK Urged To Keep Supporting Syrian Refugees

A charity that has been helping children in Syrian refugee camps has appealed to Hongkongers to continue their help, even as the displaced get ready to return home as the eight-year-long war seems to be ending.

"Syria is a broken country. Totally destroyed. Everything needs to be rebuilt. Schools, hospitals, the water supply system ... all the infrastructure is destroyed. When the refugees go back they don't have anything," said World Vision HK's head Kevin Chiu.

The group said more than half of the people it has helped have been Syrian children. Partnering with local governments, they have provided them with formal education over the years, and set up informal education facilities within refugee camps.

Chiu said Hong Kong has been very generous in the past and urged people to continue their support and donations as a lot of funds are needed to help the people rebuild their lives even after they go back to Syria.

Children bear the brunt of such conflicts as they are deprived of their entire childhood, stuck in refugee camps throughout their growing years, he said.

Some of them can't even express their trauma and World Vision uses activities like painting to give them a chance to convey their feelings. Their paintings initially showed a lot of dark emotions, a lot of anger and bitterness, he said.

"But after a few months, [after sessions] led by teachers and therapists, I see some bright spots," he said.

He said he had just returned after visiting Syrian refugee camps in Jordan which houses 100,000 people including many children.

The "Healthy Kitchen" provides over 30,000 meals to children attending school and this encourages the parents to send their kids to school everyday, he said.

Chiu told RTHK's Richard Pyne that the project also provides 400 refugees with employment and self-confidence.