Dear [YOUR POLITICAL REPRESENTATIVE],

As we approach the 4th anniversary ofthe crisis in Syria, the conflict continues to rage, affecting millions of civilians across the region. Almost half of the population of Syria has been forced to leave their homes, including over 3.2 million who have sought refuge in neighboring countries and depend on assistance to survive.Lebanon, a nation of only 4.4 million people, has taken in 1.2 million Syrians and Palestine Refugees from Syria, and now hosts the largest per capita refugee population in the world.

One in every four people inLebanon is a refugee from Syria.

This is the equivalent of the entire population of the Netherlands being taken in by the UK. Communities across Lebanon have shown great generosity in hosting more and more of their neighbors, but the small country is now buckling under the strain of the crisis. Both refugees and host communities are paying the price as public services and infrastructure cannot cope with the ever increasing pressure. Meanwhile, international aid – without which hundreds of thousands of people literally would not be able to survive – is diminishing.

As the UN launches a new funding appeal to respond to the ongoing crisis in 2015, please do everything you can to ensure that refugees from Syria and vulnerable communities across Lebanon do not go hungry, or without access to healthcare, clean water, sanitation, and education, and to ensure that they are protected against worsening conditions.

Our government can help by:

  1. Increasing funding for the response to the crisis:It’s time for Lebanon’s generosity to be matched by greater contributions from countries around the world to help provide for those in need. We can help save lives through the provision of food, shelter, clean water,and access to healthcare, we can enable children to go to school, and we can support livelihoods opportunities that enable vulnerable families to better support themselves. We can do this while also acting to re-enforce communities, infrastructure and institutions to preventLebanon from destabilizing under the weight of the ongoing crisis.
  1. Providing a lifeline to the most vulnerable refugees through resettlement: Funding alone is no longer enough. The needs of some of the most vulnerable refugees simply cannot be met in the region. Governments can help by collectively committing to provide resettlement or humanitarian admission to the most vulnerable 5% of the refugee population (180,000 people) by the end of 2015.
  1. Redoubling diplomatic efforts to find a political solution to the conflict: Ultimately the only way to prevent further terrible human suffering for years to come is through a political solution to the crisisthat allows refugees to finally return to their country in safety.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]