A new low point in the Syrian conflict: last month, more than 100,000 people sought asylum in neighbouring countries, according to the United Nations refugee agency.
The UNHCR called this a "significant escalation" and was forced to revise its $193 million (Dh709 million) estimate of the cost of assisting Syria's refugees. Two months ago, the UN estimated there would be 185,000 refugees from the country by the end of this year. Already that figure has been eclipsed: the agency says it knows of 235,500 refugees already. In Jordan, refugees are arriving at the rate of 1,000 per day - if those figures remain stable, the numbers would swell by another 100,000 before the end of the year, and that is only in one country.
The actual number of Syrians forced from their homes is probably much, much higher than the official figures. Only Syrians who have registered with the UNHCR or other government and relief agencies are counted in the official statistics. The Daily Star in Beirut reported there were Syrians in Lebanon who did not know how to register and had resorted to begging.
Add to that the many thousands who have gone to stay with relatives in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey, those Syrians who have taken refuge in the Gulf or Europe, and the thousands upon thousands of internally displaced people. The world is just beginning to come to grips with this worsening crisis.
What is to be done? Although the Syrian crisis matters internationally, it is first and foremost a regional problem. Arab countries, along with Turkey, need to focus resources to make sure that refugees are as safe as possible; to help to end an intractable crisis; and to help rebuild the country.
That will take money and political will. But the humanitarian crisis is resolvable. Syria's neighbours - Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon - are opening their countries; Arabian Peninsula countries need to play a part, as UAE humanitarian organisations have been doing for months.
It is to be hoped that once the Syrian crisis ends, refugees can go home and rebuild their lives. That may not be possible in all cases. The unfortunate truth is that the longer the conflict drags on, the more difficult it will be for people to return. As statistics mount into the hundreds of thousands, we have to remember that there are people behind those faceless numbers.
