The intensity of the humanitarian crisis that has been hitting Syria and neighbouring countries since early 2011 is not diminishing. The number of people forced to move within Syria and Syrians taking refuge in neighbouring countries is in the millions. In Syria alone, more than 13.5 million people depend on humanitarian aid. According to UN figures, at least 500,000 people have been killed and an incalculable number of 5.6 million Syrian refugees and 6.2 million displaced persons have been seriously injured. The UN calls the Idlib tragedy “the greatest humanitarian horror story of the 21st century“. The number of inhabitants of the province displaced by the fighting since December 2019 has now reached 900,000, 80% of whom are women and children.

Fearing them dead or scattered in exile, we remained for a long time without news of a small team of volunteers, known on the spot during the pre-war years, to whom we were deeply befriended. In October 2014, miraculously, contact was re-established with those who were able to remain active. In order to evaluate what is feasible and to reinforce the local team, one of our team visited the site in December 14, August 2016 and November 2017. The mission planned for 2019 had to be postponed because of the internal conflicts in Lebanon, which is a necessary passage to reach the Syrian border.