Syrians believe further hardship in store after UK aid cuts
Syrians believe further hardship in store after UK aid cuts
A new report from British charity Syria Relief found that thousands of Syrian are worried about their future survival following cuts to UK aid.
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British MP Andrew Mitchell said aid cuts have done 'untold damage to the UK's reputation' [source: Getty]
Hundreds of displaced believe cuts to UK aid will put theirlives at risk, amid worsening winter conditions,a new report published by SyriaRelief saidon Sunday.
The British charityconducted an exclusive survey with over in both Syriaand Lebanon last year and found that almost all respondents were worried about how a reduction inforeign assistance would adversely impact them.
In the 15-pagereport,Cuts with a Double-Edge Sword,Syria Relief revealedthat 70 percent of Syrians have a lower opinion of thebyaround £4.5 billion from 2019 to 2021.
"British soft power, among beneficiary communities, has taken a huge hit," said the report.
Out of the 1,019 peoplewho responded to Syria Relief’s survey, 70 percent said they were aware of UK government aid cuts and 95 percent said they were worried about how this would impact their
Featured in the report were a number of stories from Syrians living in refugee campswho expressed concerns about their future as
Ayoub from , a 30-year-old with six children, who has beenliving in a tent since 2013said: "I'm extremely concerned about how I'll be able to afford to survive this winter, with my support being cut."
The former shepherd said he was in debt and has offered to sell his kidney on in order to support his children and wheelchair-bound wife.
contacted the UK Foreign Officeabout the report's findings. We received this response from an FCDO spokesperson:“The UK is one of the largest global aid donors and to date has spent over £3.7 billion in response to the Syrian crisis.
“Our aid provides life-saving humanitarian support to millions of Syrians, including emergency food, health and shelter, and supports refugees to remain in countries in the region.”
In March 2021, just days after the 10 year anniversary of the Syrian conflict,then announced that aid to Syria would be cut by one-third. This meant a drop in fundingto around £205 million compared to £300 million in the previous year.
In theforeword for Syria Relief's report, said:"thousands of lives" had been lost as a "direct result" of cuts to UK aid.
