The number of Syrian refugees has long exceeded two million people, but what is even more tragic are the dramas which often lie behind them.

One month ago the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and UNICEF issued a press release stating that one million refugee children have been recorded. A few days ago UNHCR announced that the number of Syrian refugees reached two million.

According to a UN report, the number of Syrian refugees raised by 1.8 million in only 12 months. Of these 52% are children under 17. In addition a further 4.25 million people are displaced inside Syria, which means more than six million people displaced, an unprecedented situation in any other country, as indicated by UNHCR. "One million child refugees - this is not just another number", said Anthony Lake, executive Director of UNICEF.

Children make up half of all refugees from the Syria conflict, according to the two agencies. Most have arrived in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. Increasingly, Syrians are fleeing to North Africa and Europe. Latest figures show that some 740,000 Syrian child refugees are under the age of 11.

An increasing number of Syrians are also seeking asylum in Central Europe, with a total 1,821 asylum claims lodged by Syrians in the first half of 2013 across Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. This number of applications in the region is 8% higher than in 2012.

Between January - June 2013 Romania filed 711 asylum claims, of which 476 from Syrian citizens, and 366 Syrians received some form of protection; this ranks Romania second in Central Europe, after Bulgaria with 709 claims. Hungary ranks third with 400 claims.

The two million Syrians mentioned over the last days have been registered as refugees or are awaiting this status. Inside Syria, according to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, some 7,000 children have been killed during the conflict. “What is at stake is nothing less than the survival and wellbeing of a generation of innocents,” said UNHCR High Commissioner António Guterres. “The youth of Syria are losing their homes, their family members and their futures. Even after they have crossed a border to safety, they are traumatized, depressed and in need of a reason for hope.”, he said. The official has rated Syria as the great tragedy of this century, an ignominious calamity with suffering and population displacement with no equivalent in recent history.

Source: http://www.unhcr-centraleurope.org/ro/stiri/2013/1-milion-de-copii-refugiati-marcheaza-un-reper-condamnabil-pentru-criza-din-siria.html