>> you're watching al jazeera. i'm tony harris. just a short time ago a senate committee approved the president's military force. it will allow action within a 90--day window, however a provision of the draft bars troops from landing on syrian soil during the operation. the measure now moves to the full senate. a day after testifying before the senate bar relation, defense secretary chuck hagel, and general martin dempsey did the same for the house. no word on when the house will

vote. a man who kidnapped three young women and raped them for a decade committed suicide. prison officials found him. and it happened again at the nasdaq with a computer glitch. although nasdaq said no trading was impacted. that's all the news for now. inside story is next on al jazeera.

>> the united nations called it a disgraceful humanitarian calamity. the syrian war has caused millions to leave their country. we'll examine the risks and the grow crisis. >> welcome, every day 5,000 syrians cross their country's

borders seeking refugee from the escalating war. the suffering and displacement has been called unparalleled in recent history, al jazeera's correspondents are covering the story across the middle east. we begin in iraq. >> this is the camp, and let me show you how much it's grown in the last couple of weeks. when i arrived here two weeks ago it was a murder full. take a look at it now. it stretches all the way up across that hill. you can tell the new attempts here because they're the ones with less dust on them, but the ones that have been here for a whiler are caked brown with the dust here. so far some 54,000 refugees have arrived in the last few weeks.

the total refugee population is 200,000 to 210,000 people. that means that these people are facing a life in this camp, and they don't know when they're going to go back. i've spoken to many syrians here. and they said, look, it feels like we could be here for a very long time. we don't want to be. we want the west to act. we want our situation to change, and we want to go home. >> we have more on how lebanon is doing with the influx of refugee refugee. >> 1 million syrians now live in this country. one out of five people is a syrian, and it has caused tensions in this country. syrians live among the local population. the lebanese are complaining that syrians are take thinking jobs. they're complaining that apartment rent has skyrocketed. some people really exploiting the situation. so there is tension, and there

is the security aspect of this crisis. lebanon has not been able to stay out of the syrian conflict. we've seen security incidents, bombings, kidna kidnappings, any do blame the syrians. they're either supporters of the syrian government or in support of the opposition. this country is unable to cope without the help of the international community. >> we have more on the conditions that syrians face in one of turkey's refugee dump. refugee--he rampage camp. >> we saw the first refugees running towards us at that stage. what they were running from. we do know now.

the country said they couldn't take more than 100,000 refugees but now they have taken in half a million with no sign of the numbers de diminish. most are in containerized housing units which means they can clip air conditioning units to the outside if they can afford them. there are schools, health clinics, but there isn't a syrian refugee here who wouldn't leave tomorrow if it was safe for them to cross the border and go home. >> there is half a million refugees in jordan, and more that 4.2 million displays syrians inside the country. joining us now from jordan is maria, unicef's regional director from for the middle

east and north africa. what is the experience daily life like for the refugees that you work with, and do they have hope that life will return to normal any time soon? >> the refugees who have really been uprooted from their homes and lives and had to take a long journey to reach the camp, to reach the border, often the families, especially children, they suffer from a lot of trauma. they are in distress. they feel fear because of the horrors they've seen. many have lost loved ones. some have been separated from loved ones. so they arrive in a very difficult condition, and we've seen with refugees over the last years have probably gone through even more horrific events within

syria. at the camp they all have hope of going back, but of course, for those who arrived one year, i think their sense of hope is somewhat--is especially for the parents--is becoming difficult. but i know that kids, especially sometimes when i meet and i've met with parents, teachers, children in classrooms, you often hear, will i have an opportunity to go back? will i go back? will i see my friends? am i going to sit in my classroom? so obviously these are hopes that they carry with them all the time. >> and you're talking about not just the immediate needs of shelter and food, but the psychological aftermath and the long-lasting impacts. what concerns do you have that the children will be suffering

not just now but into the future? >> when these are real concerns, they are real concerns, especially kids who have probably witnessed horrific events, and have had to go through a prolonged period of distress. but what do we do in the camps is we enjoy--unicef ensures that children have a safe space, a safe space to play, a safe space to socialize with other children, and this helps children to overcome some of their feelings, fears, and insecurities. actually, you know, miraculous because i've seen many of these play centers, and i have been going back several times, and it's interesting to see how kids are often withdrawn, they hold

their sisters or brothers by the hand, they won't let you go, they're attached to your leg, and they don't let you go. but as you go back, and they've been drawing, talking, socializing and playing, you see them bounce back again, and it is such an necessary investment to invest in helping children deal with their traumas. of course, as the crisis is at risk to continue for other months, this can lead lasting scars in children, no doubt. >> we've been talking about 2 million refugees outside of the country. but what about the countries internally, those displaced inside syria. what are they experiencing? >> well, i mean, very much the same because they--the shelling,

which is dependent on the neighborhood that you live in, and i have gone to syria several times. you do hear throughout the day quite a lot of shelling in areas, and of course the traumas the children see, when the houses are affected, and they have to run at very short notice, and they end up in displaced centers. this is where often old famili e families are placed sometimes in a school, in a mosque, in uninhabited buildings. of course there has been the day-to-day struggle to start all over again, and often what is missing is water. what they miss is the daily services, the children miss out

on education. but because of that again unicef and it's partners, we try it's very important wherever the kids are, and to give them a sense of normalcy. it's so important that they have an opportunity to go, even to a makeshift school, a makeshift learning place where they can mingle with, with teachers and learn. >> so tell us about the funding that it takes to set up those spaces. where do you get funning from, and what is lacking? >> you know, if you have four, if i just talk of children, you have 2 million displaced children within syria, probably three or four million that are not just displaced but affected.

then there are children in camps, communities or in the form of settlements. this is a massive undertaking for humanitarian agencies. you have to find food, in addition to food you have to provide water, you have to provide schools, you have to provide playgrounds, show support, socialization and so on and so on. >> still to come, how one group of syrian americans took matters into their own hands to help syrian children cope.

>> welcome back to inside story. nearly one-third of syrians have been now been displaced both internally and outside of the country's borders. to put it in perspective it's as though 100 million americans were forced to flee their homes. the internally displaced and refugees are vulnerable to many human rights abuses. they face an increased risk of sexual violence including risk. children are vulnerable to be recruited as laborers and soldiers, and there is an increased risk of trafficking.

frank, we'll start with you, what can be done to combat these risk that we're talking about, a very real concern, and how does amnesty international help with the camps. >> we have those o on the ground and crossing over into syria. we have eyes in the sky to track the flows of people from their homes into neighboring countries as well as the internally displaced. the key thing is a much more robust international response to address the needs of this most vulnerable population, many of them children. >> and kindra, you were crossing from turkey into syria on a daily basis. why did you get involved with this? oh why did you put yourself at

risk, and how are you trying to work with children? >> yes, thank you. it was something i felt i needed to do. i'm from aleppa, syria. my family is there. the crisis was getting so massive, if there was something that i could do as an artist a creative person, i had to do something. as a human being it's our responsibility to take care of these kids in some shape, way or form. i created a program of art and, which is what we brought to these kids. we were crossing the border with our team every day into syria from turkey. we built a playground at the largest refugee camp with our partners on the ground, the foundation that we worked with there, at the ultimate camp, and you know, we needed to way to bring joy to give these kids some kind of sense of carefree childhood that had been robbed

from them because of this tragic situation going on. >> why is joy important? we're talking about large-scale problems, how does it help to have art and cultural grounding influences in lives. >> i think each of us can relate to the story that kinda is telling. it's not replicated once or twice but a million times in syria. what kind of future does syria have as a country if the needs of the children are not addressed now. >> how does this compare to other crises? take us into the history, and how large scale is this in comparison. >> there is no doubt that this is one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world. you cited the statistics right from the start. there are 2 million refugees in the region. there are 5 million more displaced internally. over all it's 7 million people, and it's a staggering number of people. there are enormous needs both

inside the country and throughout the region. >> how is the experience different if you're a syrian whose displayed internally still inside your country but not in your own home, not in your own town or city versus having to go to a camp and having to be in a camp outside of syria in a totally different country. >> that's a good question. if you're inside syria you're vulnerable to the ongoing violence. as a humanitarian organization our greatest hope to have people have their medes met not only inside syria but throughout the region. so people are in idp camps in syria, or if they're living-- >> idp, internally displaced. >> they're inside syria or if they're a refugee in any of the neighboring countries, that their needs are medicine. most importantly-- >> you know, libby, if i may interject it was really important, and we were shocked by this, how when we went into the camps and worked with these internally displaced people, and

kids, that they felt that they mattered. we were coming alls way to america traveling to be there with them in this horrific situation day in and day out. that meant a lot to them. that really touched them. that's an important thing we need to touch upon as a whole that to let them know that they have not been forgotten. you know, i had people look at me and say, tell me in arabic, they have forgotten about them nobody has done anything. it's important to show them that we do care. we're here. we would tell the kids, that was part of the program, we're here coming from america to be with you. >> frank, how has this effort internationally compared with past crises, past humanitarian crises. >> i think the world has come too little, too late to the syrian crisis. the u.n. security council has been awol, absent without leave, they have failed to address this

crisis early on. but we must recognize that the conflict shows no signs of abating. even at this late date we need to mobilize the international community to respond much more effectively. >> we'll talk about the international response and we'll look at what the united states can do to prevent the syrian crisis from getting worse and destabilizing the entire region. stay with us. pm eastern time . we will be right back. ♪

>> as the syrian refugee crisis deepens and the civil war and threat of military action, then say they don't have the funding or resources to cope. joining us is sharon waxman,

vice president for public policy and advocacy. from irvine, california, kinda, a syrian-american activist and cocreator of a program for displaced syrian children, and frank genuzi. >> what kind of money is needed. >> the appeal for the response in the region exceeds $4 billion. and of that amount only 40% has been funded. so the needs clearly outstrip the resources that have been provided. one area that i receive, my organization has really noticed where we've noticed a gap is in the countries bordering syria, many of the refugees are not living in camps. there is a tendency to respond to a refugee crisis by putting money in refugee camps which is

clearly an area that is needed, but many refugees live in communities outside of capers, and they are--outside of camps, and they are a people not being served. >> where is the money coming from? what about the governments versus private organizations or non-profits? >> i would say on balance groups like kindas are making a heroic effort because they're making a a lot with a little. and the gno communities and non-profits are there in strength. i think governments need to do more because there are constitutionainstitutional probn only be met with what the governments can bring. if there is going to be a strategy with this syrian conflict, it can't an strategy without bees meeted up with the resources to carry it out. >> we hear 2 million refugees, 1 million children, what does that mean to you? you've worked with these

children. >> honestly the numbers bother me, but it's a number. it doesn't mean anything until you've met a child, and that one child should matter just like 2 million matter. that child should not be drawing images of tanks, guns, and blood. when i was there i was teaching kids how to draw hearts, flowers and butterflies. they were lining up just to give me their notebooks to draw these things. that's where we should be aware that these kids are being traumatized and you know, if we don't get in there, if we don't get effect them, someone else will. if we don't inspire them someone else will that may not nobody the best interest of the child. >> how do you get the resources to go over there, and how are you getting funding. >> honestly, i started the program in march, by june we were there. it was a 24-7 job. we fundraise locally and through

private donors. we had on the ground support from the madam foundation who was helping us go in and out. you have to have on the ground support. like frank was saying the bigger ngos while they're doing amazing work, it's more challenging to get in as quickly as we did. we hoping to back in december. we are planning for december, and we're going to be working in turkey. they were mentioning prior it's not just about the camps, it's about the people who are in towns, in schools that are just for helping syrian refugee kids. yes, i agree. it's in and around syria. the crisis is affecting many countries. these kids are sort of the next generation--not sort of, they are, they are the future of syria, and we have to invest in them. it's an open ended question of

how. it's never enough. >> frank, what is the region at risk. we talk about destabilization, what could that mean not just for syria but the countries around it and globally. >> we have to talk about it in context. syria is surrounded by largely unstable countries that are themselves in crisis. if you talk about a country like jordan, half a million refugees, that's equivalent of 20 million refugees coming to this country. that's an enormous risk if nothing is done to address this humanitarian crisis. >> is there conversation in washington about trying to help in a concerted way that will make a difference? >> we're finally seeing a conference in response to the tragic chemical weapons attack. but really the discussion that needs to take place is the larger discussion, one that

includes a strategy to respond to the internal conflict and the humanitarian dimensions of it. >> and how do you make sure that the resources are widely used and don't go to waste. >> the international community needs to help. the diplomatic communities need to keep their borders open so people are not caught in violence, and the international community needs to step in and support these refugees with resources. >> that's all from washington, d.c. and from me, libby casey, for now. you can log on to our facebook page or accepted us your thoughts on twitter. our handle is aj inside story am. yothanks for watching.

[ laughing ] >> never charged with a crime, mohammed spent almost nine years in prison.