Work piles up on the table Meritxell Relaño (Durango, 1972). After a long career marked by his missions in Africa, he arrived in Damascus in June to lead the mission of the United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF). … The country is devastated by a long civil war and children are among the biggest victims. Relaño’s team works across almost the entire territory, which has allowed it to take the pulse of the new Syria where 2.5 million children do not go to school. Quite a change for a country where, in 2010, a year before the start of the war, childhood illiteracy was practically non-existent.
–It’s the first anniversary of the fall of Bashar al Assad, what is the situation of the children?
-Quite delicate. After a year of this new political regime, it has still not been possible to return to the desired levels in terms of social services for boys and girls. In the field of education in particular, 8,000 schools are not functional at present. There are therefore many children out of school, almost 2.5 million children who do not go to school and many others who do, but in quite difficult conditions. To this must be added that 90 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and does not even have the possibility of purchasing the necessary materials to go to school.
– What difficulties do you encounter in developing your work?
-The entire reconstruction process is affected by the number of mines in the country. It is estimated that there are more than 300,000 mines and this affects all sectors. Before starting work to repair a school, a wastewater treatment plant or a health center, the land must be cleared of mines. In 2025, nearly 600 people will die from mines, including nearly 200 children.
–How is the interaction of international agencies with the new Islamist authorities going?
-At the beginning, it was a little difficult, it was not easy to explain to them what the work of the United Nations or agencies like UNICEF is, but little by little we help them analyze what the country needs, we do studies on how many schools and water stations have been destroyed, what needs to be repaired… And then we help them to develop sectoral strategic plans and raise resources so that major donors can come and invest in the rehabilitation of social services basic.
“90 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and does not even have the opportunity to buy the necessary materials to go to school”
Meritxell Relaño
Head of Unicef in Syria
–With other open conflicts like Gaza or Ukraine, and with greater media attention, is Syria a point of attraction for donors? What is the balance between what you ask for and what they give you?
-Syria is not attracting significant funds at the moment, partly because it is still suffering from sanctions imposed on the previous regime and this does not allow donors to put money on the government’s table. Hopefully the sanctions will be lifted soon. Once the whole system is more or less functional, we hope that donors will start investing in the reconstruction of Syria. Of course, we know that international aid will only be a drop in the ocean because the World Bank estimates the reconstruction to cost $216 billion and private sector investment will be essential. I believe in the capabilities of the Syrians, I believe in their spirit of work and I know that they will move forward.
“Syria is not attracting significant funds at the moment, partly because it is still suffering from sanctions imposed on the previous regime”
Meritxell Relaño
Head of Unicef in Syria
–Unicef has projects throughout the country, what is the security context for working in Syria currently?
-The situation is fragile, which is why we always ask all parties in conflict to sincerely believe that there is no going back and that we must invest so that peace prevails. We have access to virtually the entire country, with the exception of some areas currently in active conflict, such as Sueida in the south. We have also experienced difficult times on the coast and we do not know what 2026 will bring us.
–Given what you have seen during these months of work, what message do you send to the millions of Syrian refugees in other countries?
– If there are no schools, if there are no health centers, if there is no work and security problems persist, it is difficult for families to return to Syria. International cooperation must be encouraged to truly invest so that basic social services can be provided in Syria and families can return with their children and rebuild their lives. Right now it’s difficult.
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