New ideas to tackle Syria refugee crisis: investments, not aid

Rather than struggling to gather humanitarian aid for refugees, the plans centre around investing billions of dollars, much of it to be raised on financial markets that will go into developing host countries such as Jordan and Lebanon.

AMMAN // Bold new ideas for helping Syrian refugees and their overburdened Middle Eastern host countries are gaining traction among international donors, shocked into action by this year’s migration of hundreds of thousands of desperate Syrians to Europe.

Rather than struggling to gather humanitarian aid for refugees, the plans centre around investing billions of dollars, much of it to be raised on financial markets.

The money would go for development in countries such as Jordan and Lebanon to improve lives for both their own populations and refugees.

A group of seven international aid groups, led by the Norwegian refugee council, called for a “new deal” between donors and hosts.

It would entail a massive international investment plan in return for the host countries allowing refugees to work, giving them the chance to support themselves.

More controversial is the demand that in return for such a “Mideast Marshall Plan”, Jordan and Lebanon must allow Syrian refugees to work and integrate them more into society.

The host countries point to high domestic unemployment in arguing they cannot put large numbers of refugees to work legally.

“We need to be ambitious,” the regional chief of the World Bank, Ferid Belhaj, said. “Development is the key.”

The need for alternative plans may have become more urgent, with the Paris terror attacks further heating the debate over Europe’s immigration policy. A Syrian passport, processed in Greece and registered in the Balkan countries, was found near one of the Paris suicide bombers, raising the possibility one of the assailants may have crossed into Europe with refugees fleeing Syria.

Under the traditional approach, the UN and other international agencies are the main pillar of care for refugees.

But donor funds are waning as the Syrian refugee crisis drags on with no end in sight for a war now in its fifth year. The year’s aid appeal of US$4.5 billion (Dh2.6bn) for more than 4 million refugees and host nations is less than half funded. Aid agencies have had to cut back drastically on food and cash assistance.

Aid programmes are “going nowhere at the moment”, said Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian refugee council. “The only thing we have is a half-hearted emergency relief plan that is not nearly enough to meet the needs of the refugees.”

Separately, the World Bank is working on new ideas for raising billions of dollars for large-scale investments.

The plan aims to help host countries build infrastructure, right their economies and deal with the steep costs from the refugee population. Eventually, it would expand to rebuild war-stricken Syria, Libya and Yemen. The bank estimates it will cost $170 billion over 10 years to rebuild Syria and another $100 billion to rebuild Libya.

“Frankly, those amounts ... are not available in terms of grant money today,” Mr Belhaj said.

Instead, large sums would be raised on financial markets.

The World Bank would issue special bonds guaranteed by the donors. Host countries would also be able to borrow large sums from the bank, with donors paying most or all of the interest.

Jordan and Lebanon say they need massive aid to build new schools and new housing and overhaul dilapidated water and electricity systems, all now overwhelmed by their increased population.

Lebanon, a country of 4 million citizens, has more than 1 million refugees. Jordan, with 6.4 million citizens, has more than 600,000 refugees.

Belhaj said “one needs to find a creative ways to make sure these refugees get access to economic activity” in coordination with the host countries.

* Associated Press