It's beyond dispute that there have been war crimes. Both the regime and the opposition appear implicated. The death of the British doctor, Abbas Khan, who went to Syria to use his medical skills to help victims of the war and has spent may turn out to be the latest in a string of crimes against humanity.
Foreign Office Minister, Hugh Robertson, said, "We can't at the moment be absolutely certain about the circumstances in which Dr Khan met his death, but what is clear is that he went to Syria on a humanitarian mission, was imprisoned by the Syrian authorities and met his death while he was in prison in circumstances that are at best extremely suspicious.
It's beyond dispute that there are 2.5 million refugees in neighbouring countries, particularly Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, and it is estimated that there are 6.5 millions people displaced by the war internally.
Christians are often targeted by radical elements.
The winter is making the lives of those already suffering intolerable as those of us in Wales prepare fort Christmas.
How to help is a challenge. With the opposition hopelessly divided and increasing radicalised, where can we start.
In these situations, I am helped by the fact that my daughter, Eleanor, is Director of Global Giving UK, an online charity which identifies small organisations worldwide which are making a significant impact on people's lives and acts as a conduit for donations. So I asked her to help me find a route through the maze.
Her response:
The big challenge is getting the public to donate to Syria. Its a big hole in most big charities' work. It costs a lot and
no-one wants to give. Its causing a
financial problem for OXFAM, Medecin San Frontieres etc.
Home Secretary, Theresa May, is offering 100% match on donations to UNICEF's Syria campaign and people are still not giving.
Interestingly, Global Giving UK reached out to lots of small UK Syrian outfits that have opened since the crisis began but no-one wanted to go through our vetting process!
We
have given the funds raised on our site (in the UK) to this local
project so far - an award winning Lebanese charity that is helping Syrian refugees due to the crisis. They continue to help Palestinian refugees as well.
If further substantial funds come in we will also add others to the portfolio.
So there you have it. It's one of the biggest humanitarian disasters in recent times. Because of the confusion, we're all paralysed in our giving.
It's time to unfreeze our donations so that the Syrian refugees don't freeze. All of the big international charities Christian Aid, Oxfam, Save the Children, Medecin sans Frontieres are active and need your help. If you want a small charity, there's a link above but please do something.
Mike Harrison
Engagement Officer
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