Operazione Colomba

Why a peace proposal for Syria

A proposal of peace

Since March 2011, the war in Syria has caused a human tragedy of immense proportions. While a political solution has not been found, human rights violations, abuses, killings and armed clashes go on in Syria in a context of widespread insecurity and absence of any guarantee for the protection of human rights. The figures are uncertain because of difficulties in collecting and monitoring data, but on the fifth year of the war there are more than 270,000 people dead and more than a million wounded [1] . More than half of the entire Syrian population has been forced to leave their homes, even more than once: Syria is the place of greatest crisis of global displacement [2] . The Syrians have become the largest population of refugees under the mandate of the High Commissioner for Refugees of the United Nations (UNHCR). IDPs Syria are more than 7.6 million [3] and UNHCR are refugees registered 3.9 [4] , of which about 95% is accepted in five countries: 1.7 million in Turkey, 628,000 in Jordan, 248,000 in Iraq, 133,000 in Egypt, and finally to 1.2 million in Lebanon, a country of about 4.5 million inhabitants, to which many other present without registration are added [5] and half a million Palestinian refugees.

Peace Appeal by Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

Operazione Colomba has been present in Lebanon since September 2013, starting from April 2014 a permanent presence in the refugee camp and in the village of Tel Abbas, 5 kilometers from the border with Syria.
After having been subjected to threats and violence by some Lebanese locals, refugees themselves asked Operazione Colomba volunteers to live with them in the camp. A civilian and unarmed international presence is a strong deterrent against the use of violence.
Since three years the volunteers have directly shared their lives with refugees in camps in Lebanon.
This has enabled Operazione Colomba to collect and be spokesman of the demands made by Syrian refugees, representatives of other refugees, who have fled the war in Syria not to be forced to fight or be killed.

This is the PEACE PROPOSAL OF SYRIAN REFUGEES IN LEBANON:

English version

Spanish version

Italian version

Arab version

Russian version

Appeal for Peace in Syria

We the Syrians, refugees in northern Lebanon, gathered in organisations and associations, simple citizens and families, escaped from violence and death. Five years since the beginning of the war that has destroyed our country, we still live, millions of us, without a home or the opportunity to work, without medical assistance or education for our children; we do not have a future.
In our country there are more than 200 military groups that expelled us from our houses, made legitimate only by the power of violence. We still get killed, we are forced to fight, to live in fear, to escape and we are continuously humiliated and abused.
At the peace talks, only those who have economical and political interests in Syria participate and we do not consider them bearers of our requests.
We are the real victims of this war and the only right we have is to silently choose how to die. But in the thunderous sound of weapons, we claim the right to let the world hear our voice together with those who already support us and those who will join this appeal.