One refugee every 15 seconds, 5,000 a day, 1.8 million
in the last twelve months. These are the figures for the civil war
in Syria reported by the United Nations. Striking numbers, given
that a year ago the number of Syrians who had crossed the border to
reach other countries stood at 230,671, while today
the total has passed 2 million.

"Syria has become the greatest tragedy of
this century. A shameful humanitarian disaster that has caused
suffering and a migration unprecedented in recent history,"
said Antonio Guterres, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

"The only consolation is the humanity shown by
neighbouring countries in welcoming and saving the lives of so many
people," Guterres concluded, commenting on the August figures,
which recorded 716,000 refugees in Lebanon, 515,000 in Jordan,
460,000 in Turkey, 168,000 in Iraq and 110,000 in Egypt.

Internally displaced people must not be forgotten either — that is,
people who have abandoned their homes without having
crossed any border. These are estimated at 4.25 million, bringing the
total to over 6 million, nearly one third of the country's entire
population.

A situation that, among other things,
also requires financial support to be managed — support far greater
than the funds currently available to the UNHCR.